<p>I use ear plugs for the test because I hate noises ! I think a strong mint is a good idea because it kind of wakes you up if you are dull in the middle of the test !</p>
<p>that was sure of a horrible experiance ..but i must say man, this thread is DAMN INTERESTING.....</p>
<p>admin please sticky this thread - its worthy</p>
<p>anyway my tips in addition to all these is to figure out which test center to go to.</p>
<p>From my experience, I feel that if you go to a school where the socioeconomic factors are not that high, you tend to do better (that is if you know what you are doing)...for some reason going to a school where there are too many smart kids to take the test...feels a bit intimidating lol I know this sounds pretty arrogant, but hey it worked for me. I went from a 610 to an 800 in one month...and I feel its because of the relaxed environment of the test center I was in....</p>
<p>...not as many smart indian/chinese people in the room ahha</p>
<p>I have no clue what im going to do for the essay-none at all.</p>
<p>My math wont improve so I guess 650 would have to suffice.
CR will only go down so I guess 560 will have to suffice.
Writing- if I miss 3 or 4 and get lucky on the essay (9) i might get 700.</p>
<p>Other than that, dont know what to say.:(</p>
<p>Red Bull + Propel. Got me through the marathon that is the New SAT.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Our kids' HS feels there is a "home school" advantage if you can take the test where you go to school because you're more comfortable there & know your way to the proper classroom, where the bathrooms are, etc. I guess for merudh that's not a factor. My kids have done about the same regardless of where the test center is.</p>
<p>Just took a test downing Redbull during the 1st section and popping altoids throughout...went from a 620 M in March to a 780ish today :)..verbal sucked ass though :-</p>
<p>Oh I totally agree with the "home school" advantage... I definitely feel more comfortable since I've taken so many tests there before and done well on them, what's one more? </p>
<p>Except not all of the tests are offered at my school, only a rare few for some reason. So those that aren't offered at my school, when I have to take it at another school, I always drive there a couple times to know where it's at so I'm not lost and panicking on test morning. I signed up for the June ACT and none of my test centers were available and I was sent to southside of Chicago and I'm in northwest suburbs... about two hours away and in a bad neighborhood? I skipped it, there was no way in hell I was driving there. And no way would I ever test as a standby, I'd be way too anxious.</p>
<p>I also try to get to the testing centre like 30-40min before the whole administrating thing. When driving there, I get all paniky and nervous. And when I get there, I just relax and read the newspaper and I start to get a bit bored there..
And try to stay away from other people who are like " OMG I'M SO SCREWED FOR THIS TEST? OMG WHATS THE FORUMLA FOR BLAH BLAH BLAH? OMG WHAT DOES CONCILIATORY MEAN? I FORGOT! I'M SO SCREWED!!!!!!!!!!!"</p>
<p>At my testing centre, I was sitting quite close to these smart ass guys who were talking about their tests. One guy was like - "man i got 95% in Chem test. I'm so gonna retake"
And I just got freaked out by these super competitive psychos..</p>
<p>So stay away from those people. Get there early and relax there - relaxing is that feeling of boredom and that eagerness to start the test.</p>
<p>Oh and try to get in the classroom first - to pick your first choice seats. Don't try to sit near a window - if there's noise outside, you'll get distracted. If there's a view outside, you'll get distracted. And those damn birds.. you'll get distractd by them too. On my test day in December, these people were constructing a new building in the school and I could hear the drilling and the hammering. And they were so distracting..</p>
<p>Put your admission ticket in a safe place. When I first took the SAT last year, I had misplaced my admission ticket, and it took me about 30 minutes the morning of the test trying to find that piece of paper. I got to the test center just in time for the test, but I was stressed-out and couldn't calm myself down for the first few sections of the test. I didn't do so well (1300 on the old SAT). But ya, don't be like me. Put your ticket in a safe place. I've learned my lesson....</p>
<p>banana works good for me. and usually i don't do anymore revision when i get there; we jsut hang around talking about anything but the SAT></p>
<p>"Get there early and relax there - relaxing is that feeling of boredom and that eagerness to start the test."--- i like this!:)</p>
<p>thats horrible</p>
<p>i meant it for nofx's case.....</p>
<p>Lifesavers mints, 'nuff said :). </p>
<p>Actually, I think there was a study that said that kids who ate Lifesavers during tests performed better than those who didn't.</p>
<p>whsox...instead of lifesaver mints..how about altoids? I took them on a practice test..popping about 2-3 per section and it kept me refreshed. It provides the sugar and i've read that mints help concentration.</p>
<p>I chew gum nonstop in school. I think it might actually help me concentrate by now. I'm gonna bring like 8092834 packs to my SAT. And two bottles of water. And my favorite snacks.</p>
<p>I hope you aren't one of those kids that smack their mouths when they chew gum..if so I'm glad you aren't going to be in my class test day :-P.</p>
<p>I always introduce myself to the proctor and make conversation while everyone files in. It scares me to take a test and have the proctor hate me.</p>
<p>I also can't have anything on the desk! It has to be perfectly clean--even my calculator bugs me. </p>
<p>Does anyone else get into a zone, and completely forget where they are? I always space out in the SAT. I just get into this rhythm and all concious brain activity STOPS--it's just me and the test, all alone. I like to think of it as the Lethargic Geek's "Runner's High"</p>