Taking the SAT soon? Follow these tips to approach your test with confidence.
1. Study, but don’t cram.
2. Get in the zone! Focus in a quiet environment before working on your practice tests, as if at the actual test.
3. Take a working holiday for test prep. Consider taking the day before test day off from school (with a parent at home to help) – do a practice test, review, and get into your zone: calm, focussed and positive.
4. Have everything ready to go the day before. You’ll need: calculator, several sharpened #2 pencils, ID, ticket, extra calculator batteries, snack, drink, layers of clothing (zipped sweatshirt, etc), wrist watch (preferably one with a bezel or silent stopwatch function that you have studied with so you can pace yourself). Put those extra batteries in a pocket; you may not be allowed to bring your backpack into the test room.
5. Know the route. Know how to get to the test center and how long it takes, keeping traffic in mind. Got gas in the tank?
6. Get a good night’s sleep. Set your alarm and a backup.
7. Warm up the brain! Get up a little bit early and do some practice questions before you go.
8. Food is brain fuel. Eat a sensible breakfast and bring a good snack and drink to the test. Are you a coffee drinker? Great; get your caffeine on. If not, however, don’t choose test day to start.
9. Arrive early. Thirty minutes early is good so you can choose where you want to sit, away from distractors, if possible.
10. Ignore idle chatter. Focus on yourself, instead, and your test.
11. Congratulate yourself. You’ve done your best: you should be proud!