There aren’t very many pursuits in which relentlessly focusing on just one specific part of a goal will take you where you want to go.

Someone who wants to play professional football will need to do more than just spend a lot of time in the gym.

You can practice scales on the guitar every day, but it probably won’t be enough to launch a successful music career with a band.

Imagine a ballerina who spent all her time practicing only basic positions. Or an aspiring politician who cared only about making good speeches. Or a hopeful pre-med who resolved to review only basic anatomy over and over again.

And this is exactly why you can’t test prep your way to an admission from a highly selective college.

Test scores are important at those schools. And for many students, test prep has its place. But big goals tend to be complex. And you can’t reach them with a narrow focus on any individual element.