As we approach the first weekend of June, it’s probably useful to post about SAT strategies.

For many rising Seniors, the June SAT is the first one they take (although I always recommend taking at least one earlier in the year), and in some ways, it is the first time that the question of college applications seems real. This year’s Seniors are graduating and moving on, and if it yet hasn’t dawned on current Juniors that their high school days are numbered, it will now.

Part of me wants to give advice on strategies for the test itself here, but for the most part they take too long to learn, and so I will limit myself to one: do NOT transfer every answer to the bubble sheet after you answer it. This leads to over a minute of wasted time over the course of each section, as you go back and forth between the bubble sheet and the test itself. Instead, write your answer - and circle it, so that you don’t have to waste time looking for it - on the test page itself, and then transfer the answers to the bubble sheet in blocks. I usually suggest doing it at the end of each page. So, if you have four math questions on a page, answer all four and then transfer the answers. If you skip an answer, this will also prevent you from making the mistake of misordering your answers. I had a student once who did quite well on practice tests and bombed the SAT, and we realized afterwards that she skipped an early question, but forgot to skip it when she was transferring her answers, so that everything she bubbled in after that was one off. Bubbling in blocks will prevent this.

In terms of test preparation, here are five practical suggestions:

1. Get plenty of sleep on Thursday night.

This is something that any athlete will tell you: it is not the night before the test when you need a good night’s sleep, but the night before the night before. So, if you’re taking the test on Saturday, get to bed early on Thursday night and sleep late into Friday morning. Obviously, you don’t want to pull an all-nighter on Friday, but your sleep Friday night is far less important to your success on the test than your sleep on Thursday night.

If you're taking the test on Saturday, don't study on Friday. At all. Hang out. Eat your favorite comfort food. Watch a movie, whether it be at a theater or at home on Netflix, Hulu, TV, etc. Don’t do any work. Your brain needs a break. In rowing, running, or swimming, they talk about tapering before a big race. Taper before the SAT too. There is no amount of studying the day and night before the test that will help you, but treating yourself to a day off from school work will work wonders.

The morning of the test, get up early so that you make sure that you eat a well-balanced, and preferably large, breakfast. Your body metabolizes different foods at different rates, so you want to have protein, carbs, and fat. I would even recommend caffeine, even if you’re not used to drinking tea or coffee regularly. Comfort foods are good, too. So, if you like your Mom or Dad’s bacon and eggs, ask for them special!

There is a break during the test. Power bars, or granola bars, are great choices. The SAT is a LONG time to sit in one place and focus, and you need to have a pick me up with you for that halfway point. Even a little bit of chocolate is better than nothing if you can’t stand the taste of granola.

If one of the sections doesn't go well, don't get discouraged. It might not count. Most people don’t realize that on every single SAT there is one section that is a test section of The College Board, so that they can try out questions for future use. You’ll never know which section it is, so if you have a really hard math section, or an impossible reading passage, just keep a positive attitude and assume that it was the section that won’t affect your score. You might be right, and if you’re not, it won’t help the rest of your test to worry about something you can’t control.

There’s lots more that I could write about, but those small suggestions should help you get through what can be a very long morning. Always remember, the SAT is only a part of what colleges will be looking at, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to take them again. In other words, SATs might be a little important, but they are not the end of the world, and you should put them into a greater perspective. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me! I offer a free 30-minute session with students to remind you that any part of the process that might seem overwhelming is a lot easier than you realize. Good luck!

Mr. K

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