Anyone have any good tips for the day of the SAT? I’ve seen advice about staying in the moment, not thinking about what your score will be, etc. Also, taking deep breaths when needed with your feet flat on the floor. I’ve even heard advice about what to bring or drink between tests (Gatorade?).
At this point, I think it’s a mental game for our S19. He’s been studying this summer and doing a good job. Pretty soon, it will be time to try to relax and just take the test. I don’t want him to overthink questions and I’m hoping he will be relaxed and confident but any tips would be appreciated!
Lastly, when is the best time to take a last practice test? I was thinking the weekend before the test makes sense…and then maybe no more prep after that. Thoughts?
A good tip I have heard is to get a very good nights sleep, 2 nights prior. So the sleep you get on the Thursday night before the test is the most important
HAVE BREAKFAST!!! It’s an awfully long test! You don’t want your blood sugars dropping in the middle of a section.
Make sure all your stuff is on the kitchen counter. Calculator, pencils, ID, etc.
Don’t change an answer unless you find an actual mistake, like a calculation error. Repeated studies have shown that your first instinct is more likely to be the correct one.
@wisteria100 that’s a great idea. Our niece actually went to a concert the night before her SAT. Come on! I don’t know what her parents were thinking. Of course, I knew sleep the night before was important but it makes sense to get good sleep the few days before as well. Thanks!
My kid got a coffee drink from Starbucks before. She actually does focus better with it – I’ve seen her in an academic setting (Quiz Bowl) with and without it, and realized after a while that she was a LOT sharper after having one. She had almost perfect scores. I don’t give all the credit to caffeine, of course, and too much would definitely be detrimental. But for her one medium mocha was part of test day prep.
Put new batteries in the calculator a few days before the exam. Print out 2 copies of the admissions ticket, one for him to take with him, and one for you to keep with you just in case. Take two forms of ID, one for him and one for you just in case. This is lesson learned from my son when he took a subject test last year…he left his wallet on the stairs as he was putting on his shoes. Good thing I had backup in my purse.
@homerdog They are totally available on the CollegeBoard website. They send you an email to remind you to print them, but there are there in his account the minute he signs up for the test.
Be careful with high energy=high carb snacks. They cause your blood sugar to spike then to crash. Quest bars are low carb/very high protein, cheese sticks, almonds, etc. may work a little better.
Snacks are important. I agree. I guess every student is a little different as to what works for them. I could never take the test without coffee if I had to take it now! S19 has never had much caffeine. We don’t drink soda around here. I do think it might help him a little but we would have to experiment. Definitely going to make sure he has cold lemon water in his water bottle and some apple, cheese, and nuts. Those are his usual go-tos.
This isn’t exactly a ‘day of’ suggestion but since it wasn’t mentioned and to make sure you are doing it:
Mimic full practice exams just like what will happen on the day of the actual exam. My D did full ACT practice exams the 4 weeks before her real exam in September. She did everything exactly like the day of the exam.
@Dolemite Do you mean your D did four exams…one per week for a month before the test? I was considering that. Starting this weekend, I was going to have S19 take an official practice test each Sunday morning.
Yes she did a full practice exam every Saturday morning for a month. She actually was following a 5 week bootcamp that had her do a section each day the first five days then a full exam that Saturday with the 5th Saturday being the actually exam. She made a 36 on her first setting. It takes a disciplined child to follow the boot camp.
Are kids allowed to bring drinks into the test?