<p>Alright, so. I get great scores when practice sections separately, but if I sit down and take an entire test, there's a visible trend of missing more and more questions as the test goes on. I can't concentrate for such a long time, and it shows up in my scores. What do you guys do to help you stay focused? </p>
<p>I have a superscore of 2190 right now, but I've pulled off 2300's when I practice each section separately. </p>
<p>HELP.</p>
<p>Take the five minute breaks that are given, they help a lot. Eat a light snack during the break, maybe something sugary towards the end.</p>
<p>I also go to the loo during EVERY break. It helps quite a bit. I also drink a bit of water to hydrate myself and last time I also took these chocolate energy bars that were quite tasty :D</p>
<p>Also, you might find that you lose concentration at home more than you do in the actual test - I found this to be true for myself.</p>
<p>I think a lot of people have this problem. I honestly believe that a large part of the SAT is a test of concentration and “endurance”. Eat well and sleep well for a while before the test. Have some snacks and some water or something ready and just try your best to focus. But a 2190 is AWESOME! I wouldn’t worry too much. I don’t think a 2190 is going to hold you back anywhere, not even at the ivys.</p>
<p>Do some endurance training – more practice tests in one sitting, or just make yourself sit through longer, uninterrupted periods of time for studying, reading, and writing. People don’t expect to run marathons by only running sprints, should they expect to do a marathon exam without endurance workouts beforehand?</p>
<p>Sometimes this makes me wish I was a bit more like my sister when it comes to working. She can go for 5-6 hours on a stretch studying without a break, whereas I can barely go more than an hour…</p>
<p>Mrs Weasley’s advice (lol at the username) is pretty good. Try studying for longer stretches - I will be trying to do this myself.</p>
<p>/end procrastination, and back to work haha</p>
<p>I haven’t taken the SAT I, but before taking the ACT the second time I enrolled in an intensive Russian class. I would wake up at 6 o’clock, go to my class for three hours, come home, eat, study until dinner, eat, and then study until 11 o’clock or midnight for five days a week. Even though I didn’t take the class to help my concentration, it ended up boosting my ACT reading score by 2 points and my Science score by 7 points (the third and fourth sections on the test, respectively). Before I had problems with maintaining my concentration and warding off fatigue.</p>
<p>I would assume any intensive-learning class would help with this problem. Maybe they offer intensive mathematics or science courses if you would be more into that. Just an idea. Studying nonstop for 15 hours a day really conditions your mind to work like a machine.</p>
<p>I know what you mean. Those long reading passages really do take a toll on your concentration. I would follow the suggestions that the other members gave you. I like to drink a glass of water during each break. I think it helps! :p</p>
<p>Just sitting there hour upon hour is really tough. At one point or another it just becomes tedious. The fact that they let you take breaks is supposed to help with it. All of my teachers have told me to eat sugary things to keep you on that “buzz” for a while. Stretch as much as possible as well, you get tired after sitting in one position for long periods of time! Good luck!</p>
<p>aaah thanks for the help guys. I just have an issue with thinking about other things and appointments and everything else I have to do 
How do you all do the sleep thing? I have a friend who went to sleep at 7, woke up at 3 am, and then just studied some vocab, drank some tea, and was completely awake and alert by the time she took the test. Heh, I don’t think I’m that committed.</p>
<p>wow, that’s uhm… wow. 3 am really? I usually don’t study in the morning just because of the “burnout” theory. It’s better to be calm and not study rather than cram, you being more relaxed. I’ve crammed once of twice but I’ve usually ended up forgetting a lot of the info because I was tense while trying to memorize it. I would get a really good night’s rest and a great breakfast to release some endorphins! Better to be happy and relaxed rather than tense and pressured. Lol.</p>