Answer 1

Yes AND No. Your traditional selective colleges and universities have no choice but to include standardized tests in the college admissions process, if for no other reason than volume. Schools like NYU and Columbia receive more than 50,000 applications each year.

The GOOD news is that many universities, like NYU are amending their testing policies to allow student who don't present their best selves on standardized tests, a menu of options to choose, http://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/apply/freshmen-applicants/instructions/standardized-tests.html

Middlebury is also "test flexible", http://www.middlebury.edu/admissions/start/requirements

And then for students who don't test well at all, there are a wealth of GREAT colleges that are "test optional" and do not require standardized tests as part of admissions, http://fairtest.org/university/optional

Best of luck!

Answer 2

I love the fairtest.org website. Students sign onto FairTest for one of two reasons. Some students utilize FairTest because they are looking for schools that review the entire student, the full picture, placing emphasis on areas other than testing. Other students use FairTest because they do not test well, leaving their scores much less of a representation of their abilities than they would like.

Students are more than the score on a test. Although top-tier schools may continue to look for top scores, more and more colleges are becoming test optional every day. Take a look at FairTest.org. You will be amazed at just how many institutions are listed. 

Good Luck!