Have you ever wondered how to study or prepare for the biggest test that would set a foundation for your future?

Well, you don’t have to worry! You still got time to prepare and get some practice before you go and take the exam.

Many students, especially juniors in high school, worry and panic about this particular test. Sometimes students receive results that reflect on the negative emotions that they portray. And there is a solution to that!

There are many ways to prepare for this test and succeed at it.

In order to prepare for the test, students should set a plan. A plan that indicates what days they should take practice tests or go to a tutoring session to clarify things that they may not understand or get better at it.

I’ve always used the motto: Practice makes perfect!

20 things that I advise students to do, especially Freshmen when preparing for the test:

1. Make a routine
2. Sign up for SAT tutoring at school or outside of school and take advantage of it.
3. Ask questions
4. Use resources from libraries or on the internet to take practice tests from previous years
5. Watch videos that show similar problems or questions on the exam
6. Borrow an SAT preparation book from a friend or buy one
7. Know the structure of the test
8. Be familiar with specific English and math techniques
9. Self-study
10. Keep reading! Reading is essential.
11. Study your words
12. Know your strengths and weaknesses especially in writing essays
13. Learn specific techniques
14. Work on time management
15. Commit to studying
16. Review and correct your mistakes
17. Talk to those who have experience with it
18. Set a goal score
19. Be confident
20. Calm down and relax

What to do the before and the day of the test!

Before test day…

The best thing to do before test day is to not do homework. Doing homework before the test day adds on to the stress and makes your brain more active. Which isn’t going to help you. Prepare extra sharpened pencils, an eraser, and a calculator. Second, you must eat a good, healthy dinner. A dinner that has vegetables, fruits, and protein. Also, drink plenty of water. Having this will make you more active the day of the test. Third, get lots of sleep. I mean plenty of sleep. You’ll need it! Most importantly, don’t study at the last minute. Rushing in to study isn’t a smart idea to do. It would just make you more anxious and panicky.

Day of the test…

Wake up and eat a light breakfast which will get you started for the day. Make sure to leave some time to get ready. Don’t do things in a rush. Bring a bottle of water to drink in between test brakes. And be on time. You wouldn’t want time to be wasted on your test. And always be CONFIDENT!

My experience taking the test

During my freshman year of high school, I didn’t really do anything to prepare for the test. Which I regret so much! I would’ve gotten more practice. Sophomore year, I took two realistic practice tests that really showcased my strengths and weaknesses. I was able to use my test scores to learn what I did wrong and improve on specific topics. Junior year, I took one more practice test which I did better on in comparison to the previous practice tests. After that, I had to take the real one, the one that really mattered. I had confidence and a positive attitude going in to take the test. The only thing that I had to do was to believe myself and believe that I can do it. When I got my scores, I was so shocked because I improved by so much and all my hard work paid off. However, no matter what score I got, I was still going to retake it.

Every student no matter what they got should always take it for a second time or even take the ACT to see which one they do better on. It is always better to try it a second time because you never know if you could get a higher score than the first time.