Tips for SAT Success

Juniors and Seniors, it’s that time again where you will start taking your SAT’s! Of course, everyone’s goal is to receive a score of 1600, which is nearly impossible, although it can be done. Luckily for everyone, I have some tips from the College Board and Khan Academy to achieve an advanced proficient score! Some of the tips are:

  • Working Hard in School: According to the College Board, “The best preparation for the SAT occurs every day as you study hard in school and acquire important reading, writing, language and math knowledge skills.”
  • Pace Yourself: You should always keep track of the time during the test. Check yourself one – quarter all the way through, one – half and three quarters of the allotted time.
  • Annotating the Test Booklet: You can annotate on the test booklet at much as you want. If done judiciously, it will help you recall important facts or work through challenging problems.
  • Analyzing the Questions: You should consider skimming the questions to get a sense of what issues will be important. Before reading the answer choices for each multiple-choice question, try to come up with the answers on your own. Then find the one that is closest to yours. Finally, always read all of the answer choices, because you don’t want a hasty decision to cause you to select the wrong answer to a question.
  • Don’t dwell on questions that stump you because this wastes time. Circle the ones you decide to skip so that you can return to them later. Remember each question is worth the same amount. If you skip a question, make sure you skip that spot on that answer sheet as well, because you don’t want to receive everything incorrect!

More importantly, don’t forget to have a good night’s sleep and a great breakfast before the test! To all seniors and juniors, we wish you the best on the next step of your life!