<p>Hi All,
My D is not a strong tester and is taking the SAT's for the first time on Saturday.She gets very anxious during testing situations and I would love any tips about what I could say to her to how to lessen her anxiety, what to pack for snacks,and any general test taking tips.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions and good luck to all parents whose children are taking the SAT's this Saturday!
negirl27</p>
<p>Don’t forget to wear a watch so you can keep track of the time.</p>
<p>For our DD, calm morning start is easiest, without a lot of chatter (drives me nuts, I’m a morning person ready to go and talk at a very early hour). I’ve learned to make sure all materials are ready to go the night before (test ticket, pencils, erasers, caluclator), provide food she likes (usually pizza), snacks that include protein (usually nuts) and make generally encouraging remarks (we love you and know you will do well). So far, she’s only taken the SAT as part of a Talent Search, not “for real” but this has worked well for her, and us!</p>
<p>So glad those SAT days are over in this house.
- Does she understand the strategy if a question is too hard, taking her more than a certain about of time, she should skip it or make educated guess if she can rule out a couple of the answers? I don’t recall- but she should have planned strategy. </p>
<p>2) If she starts to panic, she should know how to breathe deeply, to relax herself.</p>
<p>3) Minimize the importance by telling her this is a baseline test. You will use her results of this one, to improve on the Senior Fall test. ie we used a tutor to help daughter with her weaknesses in math, and son practiced vocabulary and took enough practice tests to improve his time management skills. </p>
<p>4) I hope she has been taking the practice tests because much of SAT test is using time management skills. It’s too late for that now, but in the future, confidence will go up significantly with practice tests.</p>
<p>Remember to bring the admission ticket, photo ID, pencils, and calculator with fresh batteries (put everything in a clear baggie the night before). Check and make sure that the calculator is a type that is approved (check the college board website for info on approved calculators). Bring a water bottle, snack, and have a couple of tylenol or motrin in a pocket in case of a headache. Wear a watch. Let her space out on the drive to the test by listening to her favorite music on her ipod. Maintain a sense of humor and hope for the best.</p>
<p>You as a parent can do some prep work too. Hopefully your D registered early enough to get the test location/site that both of you are familiar with, and not somewhere out in the boonies. If that’s the case, make sure you have enough gas in the car, check the tires’ air pressure, look at Google’s satellite picture or street view of the location, not just how to get there.</p>
<p>As for her, wear comfortable clothing (it’s a marathon), preferably in layers, shirt/sweat shirt/jacket, but make sure there is no electronic device in them, like cell phone, iPod etc.</p>
<p>Tell her that there are many excellent SAT-optional schools. So her future does not depend on her SAT score 100% - it might take some pressure off…;)</p>
<p>Sleep. Make sure she gets plenty. D freaks out if she is tired. She took her first SAT on less than 4 hours sleep. Not a good idea.</p>
<p>I baked mine a special breakfast with lots of nuts, raisons, oatmeal, and all those good stuffs that provide extra energy and endurance. It must have worked. She did not have to take it again.</p>
<p>Tell her there will be other chances to retake the test. Yes, she should do her best, but if she needs to retake there are other opportunities to do so.</p>
<p>it’s a long day with a long test so
1] make sure she has a big breakfast with lots of protein- enough to sustain her until perhaps 4.5-5 hours later- if the test gets started late, which can often happen with inexperienced proctors running things.
2] make sure she gets there in plenty of time- arriving at 7:50 and trying to find a parking spot at the last minute could mean she might be too late to start on time. I would advise driving her instead of having her drive herself.
3] have her take a snack AND a coke or something with caffeine in it- to keep her going.
4] If you do drive her, know that she will probably be STARVING when she gets out of the test, so it would be supportive to have food all ready for her in the car, if she doesn’t want to go out to eat.</p>
<p>Good snacks (in my opinion): Cheese crackers, bananas, apples, granola bars, cookies that aren’t too crumbly. Also fruit juice or something caffeinated, as suggested above. (Avoid nuts.) Collect the pencils, calculator, watch, Kleenex, etc. the night before. Allow plenty of time to arrive, especially if going to an unfamiliar locale.</p>
<p>Or–you could do what I did: leave with barely enough time to spare, without quite knowing the route, and get caught in a snarl of unexpected one-way streets, plus one that turned out to be dual-level. Use words previously absent from your vocabulary. Drop offspring off at test site and try to forget the morning!</p>
<p>HEre are some hints from an adult who took the test. Pretty funny article, but of course, there is some truth in her experience.</p>
<p>The physical part of the test can be grueling. 2 five minute breaks and one one minute stretch…As she said, “It is a real challenge to go to the bathroom and eat a snack in five minutes. this is especially true when there is only one bathroom and many female test takers. Difficult choices had to be made.”</p>
<p>[K-Mart</a> Calculators, Protein Bars and Bathrooms: My SAT Experience | Journal of College Admission | Find Articles at BNET](<a href=“http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3955/is_200610/ai_n16779698/]K-Mart”>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3955/is_200610/ai_n16779698/)</p>
<p>When my son took the SAT in March, there were huge traffic jams trying to get into the school parking lot. My advice is to allow LOTS and LOTS of extra time. </p>
<p>Tomorrow in our town is an annual huge rummage sale that will be competing for parking with SAT test takers. It’s not a bad idea to plan an alternate route and alternate parking! And leave plenty early.</p>