Sat Exam Tip What To Do The Week Of The Sat Test?

By Author: Mark Anestis
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You have spent countless hours in SAT preparation and now the big tests is just aeight days away. Here is a plan for how you can spend your final week of SAT test preparation.

The Week Before – What to Do?

We have some general tips for what you can do in the week leading up to the SAT exam to help you get ready for test day:

(1) Sleep

It’s really important to make sure you are well rested on test day. A lot of students make the mistake of just going to bed early the night before the SAT. In many cases, this will just result in you feeling MORE tired than normal on test day. You should plan ahead and make sure you go to bed early a few days in a row leading up to the exam. It takes a couple days of good rest for your body to appreciate the kind gesture.

(2) Try to Take it Easy if possible

Along those same lines, you are going to want to try and take it easy the week of the SAT. Don’t go crazy with your extracurricular activities and try to be organized with your school work so you aren’t burning the midnight oil getting assignments done. Unfortunately, your teachers will often ...
... not consider the SAT when they determine what homework to give out during the week of the SAT. So, you may find that you have a nasty work week that week. If that happens, speak to your teachers and let them know you are taking the SAT on Saturday and see if they will give you a pass until the following week if it’s a large assignment. In many cases they will be understanding and give you a much appreciated extension.

(3) Tick Tock

Your test room will have a clock – it has to. But, maybe that clock is not in the place you would ideally like it to be. Maybe you don’t like trying to decipher non-digital clocks… So, during the week leading up to the test, if you haven’t been using one all along as you do your practice tests, try to find a nice digital timing device that you can use on test day (it would be SUPER if the device could be set to count down on each section – that would be ideal). It’s important to note that it cannot make noise or you won’t be allowed to use it.

(4) Review Your Old Tests

If you have done what many do (keep all the tests you have completed so that you can have a massive bonfire with them when you are done with the SAT) then go through those tests and look over the questions you have gotten wrong. Try to work through the correct way to do them and if you can’t remember how to do them, look over your notes. Also, if you do intend to have a bonfire with your old tests…. please remember that only YOU can prevent forest fires…

(5) Be a Germaphobe!

The last thing you want is to get sick the week of the SAT. Allow yourself to live the life of a germaphobe heading into the SAT. Wash your hands often, steer clear of those who are sick, and become good friends with hand sanitizer.

T’was the Night Before the SAT – What to Do?

(1) Relax

Please don’t go crazy trying to review things the night before the SAT. At this point, you know what you are going to know and you are ready to roll. Review some vocabulary flash-cards or look over a few problems that you had studied recently, but don’t go crazy doing practice questions or passages. You’ve likely done enough at this point!

(2) Early Bedtime

The night before the SAT you should try to relax a bit and continue with your “go to bed early” plan. Again, keep in mind that you shouldn’t suddenly try to get 12 hours of sleep the night before the SAT if you haven’t been doing that the past couple of nights, because you will wake up feeling more tired than you would have been if you had gotten a typical night’s sleep.

(3) Get Organized

The night before the test you should make sure you have the following items already packed up for you to bring to the test the next day:

(a) your photo ID

(b) your test day ticket

(c) your timing device

(d) several pencils (already sharpened)

(e) a mini pencil sharpener

(f) erasers

(g) your calculator

(h) a snack (protein bar, etc)

(i) batteries for your calculator (you’d be stunned to hear how often people run out of batteries during the test.)

(j) your brain (this one is important… We can’t tell you how many horror stories we’ve heard from students who forgot their brains at home…)

Exam Day – What to do?

On the morning of the exam, there are several things you can do to get yourself ready for the test:

(1) Eat your typical breakfast

We will often times hear people advise others to eat a huge breakfast on the morning of the SAT so that they will have the energy they need to dominate the test. We think it’s a mistake to eat a huge breakfast on test day if you are not used to eating a huge breakfast. Eat what you normally eat for breakfast – stick to your routine. If you don’t normally eat breakfast, we’d probably advise that you eat something. Try to consume some protein if you can – feed those brain cells because they are going to be working hard for you for 4 hours!

(2) Exercise

This one might get some weird looks from our readers. We are not talking about heading into a spinning class on the morning of the SAT in an effort to burn off about 1,000 calories. This suggestion is for an individual who is used to exercising and who likes exercising in the morning. A quick run can get your blood flowing and help you relax as you head into the test.

(3) Read a Short Passage

Leave yourself a short Critical Reading passage that you can skim through as you eat your breakfast. This will get your brain into the right frame of mind. We liken this to heading outside and turning your car on in the winter so that when you get into the car to head wherever you are going it is already warmed up. When the test begins, you want your brain to be in game mode already.

(4) It’s Better to Be Early than Late

Believe us – you would prefer to arrive at the test center early rather than late. Give yourself plenty of time to get there, add in a little time in case there is traffic or you get lost en route. You will feel some nervousness as it is on test day – no need to add in nervousness related to being late for the test.

(5) Pump Yourself Up!

This is the day you’ve been training for! Get excited to dominate! Get excited to beat up that poor defenseless SAT that you are going to toy with for four hours. If you’ve done your practice tests, then there will be absolutely no surprises. Head in there and take no prisoners!!

Article Source: SATladder.net