Last-Minute Tips for the SAT

Last-minute advice :

Treat the Night Before the SAT as an Important “School Night.”

                Prepare for the SAT as Though It Were the First Day of School.

Remember back in grade school, when you were all excited the night before the first day of school? You laid out your new “back to school” clothes, made sure you had all your new pens, pencils, papers, folders, binders, etc., put them in your bookbag, and then had them ready when you needed them in the morning.  It’s a good idea to do the same thing the night before the SAT. 

Make sure you have layers of clothing in case it’s cold or hot in the exam room. Make sure you’ve already packed up your pencils, SAT-approved calculator (check the SAT website for details as to what calculators can and cannot be used), an eraser, a little prepackaged snack (you can eat it during one of the breaks), etc. Don’t bring your cell phone, any sort of tablet, or anything else; the last thing you want is to be disqualified because you brought something in that you weren’t supposed to have

                It’s Not Party Time!

The night before the SAT is not a time to “party” or “experiment” with alcohol, drugs, or any other mood-altering compounds.  Not only are alcohol and recreational drugs illegal (wow, that’d be awful to get arrested the night before the SAT!), as far as I know, there aren’t any common mood-altering compounds” that leave you in your best test-taking mental state the next morning. 

Drugs and alcohol aren’t the only things that can get you in trouble before the SAT. It’s also not the night to eat much more, or a wildly different kind of food, than you normally eat.  You don’t want an upset stomach, or other intestinal symptoms, when you’re taking the test. You definitely do not want to have to ask to use the restrooms during a test section. You do get some one-minute and five-minute breaks, but I’d rather not try to race to the toilet and back during a one-minute break, or have to “hold it” while the funky new cuisine I discovered” the night before is suddenly trying to exit in a hurry.  Your fellow test-takers will also appreciate not having to hear or smell your intestinal distress during the exam.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep.

Go to sleep at the same time or slightly earlier than you would the night before an important day at school. Don’t overdo it. There’s no point in going to bed at 8 pm, just to wake up at 4 am so you’re already tired by the time the exam starts.

Study Wisely:

Look, you’re not going to learn that much the night before the SAT. Take an hour or two to review and work on areas that still trouble you, but you’re not likely to break a lot of new academic ground during that time. If you can master a couple of problem types during that period, you’re doing well. If you just review things you already knew, that’s great, too! (Tip of the hat to Dr. Suess).

Don’t bother to try to study in the morning before the exam, and don’t take your review book to the test site. You won’t learn anything useful in that short a period, and the last thing you want is to be accused of using the review book or other material to cheat, which brings me to my final point.

Don’t Try to Cheat.

It’s wrong and you’ll probably get caught. Good luck getting into any college with THAT on your record.

That’s all for now.  Good luck on the SAT!