SAT preparations can be stressful if they haven’t been handled the right way, everyone is aiming for high scores because a lot is riding on them.
The following secrets to improve your SAT test scores will not only make you well prepared but also help you score sufficiently enough and justify your efforts.
So let’s spill the beans.
1. Set a Score Goal
In order to set a goal for your score you need to look into the SAT score requirement in the potential college you’re thinking of applying. Having a specified goal will keep you on track and will motivate you to study hard for the test, the target score must be realistic that maximizes your potential.
2. Decide on a Practice Schedule
Your schedule must reflect your needs and must match your goal as well. Outline such a schedule that emphasizes on your areas of improvement.
You can also apply for SAT practice for free! At Khan Academy, you’ll not only be taught for SAT test but once you sign up, you can also avail the “create schedule” opportunity on their dashboard with your schedule being optimized according to your requirements and feasibility.
3. Point Out Your Mistakes
In order to avoid making mistakes in the actual test, you must figure them out before and work on eliminating them.
You can learn about your mistakes through practice SAT tests and identify your areas of improvement, you must do so before it gets too late. The mistakes can either be careless or knowledge-based but what’s important is that you find out the underlying cause and work on defeating them one by one.
4. Practice, practice and practice
It goes without saying that one of the most crucial steps towards improving your SAT score is to practice.
Preparation of the material will not only make you adjust to the complexity of the content but will make you familiar with the type of material you’ll be expecting in the final test and this will alleviate your test anxiety.
Most students take SAT tests more than once and majority of them show great improvement later on, well mainly because they’re less daunted of the test and more focused on giving their best.
In all optimism, the lower you score in your first test, the greater the chance for you to improve on it the next time.
5. Use the Process of Elimination
There are instances when you don’t know a particular question or are just confused because the answers seem similar. You need to make your best guess in order to earn a few extra points on your scoreboard. You can start by eliminating the wrong answers one by one and in the end, you’ll be left with the right one. With this, you need to work backwards and employ a sensing personality type.
6. Skip Questions that are Taking Long
If you want to avoid falling short on time, you must let go of questions that you find difficult instead of wasting time to solve them.
If you come across such a question, circle it and come back to it later. You already have limited time and you need to allocate every minute effectively through all the sections.
7. Join Study Groups
You can make yourself part of a group for SAT preparation either online or just with a bunch of friends. A study group helps in preparation because of the shared goal of achieving high scores, the aspect of cross-fertilization; sharing strategies and tips to overcome difficulties and always providing support to each other.
8. Benefit through Free Study Materials
The internet has unlimited sources that consist of SAT related material but the focus must be on professionally produced materials only so that you can attain the right insight into the courses.
9. After Preparing, Take a Full SAT Practice Test
To leave no door for error, you must give a practice SAT test assuming that you’re actually in the exam hall. Recreating the testing experience will bring forth your strength and weaknesses prior to the actual exam and help you outline a particular strategy that you can use.
10. Don’t Waste Time Going through Instructions
You must be aware of the instructions before and you can go through them on websites like Collegeboard.
Once you’ve read through this, you’ll know what to expect so don’t waste time reading instructions and allocate the limited time logically.
11. Don’t Stress Out
Worrying about your scores is normal till it starts taking a toll on you and the prospects of you scoring high start to appear distant.
With high stakes, anxiety is very likely to arise but you need to relax and maintain breathing levels at all time, don’t let the situation get the best of you. Be confident in your capability and do not panic. Practising anxiety and stress relieving exercises will contribute towards relaxation.
12. Eat Breakfast and Get a Goodnight’s Sleep
A proper diet and sleeping schedule will not only keep your concentration intact but will also process other brain functions properly, overburdening will never help and instead lead you towards forgetting major chunks you stayed up rote learning the night before.
13. Bubble in the End
In order to save a bit of time per section, you can bubble in all your answers at the end once you’re done which will help you to avoid the hassle of juggling through the test and answer booklet.
14. Don’t Forget to Double Check
Once you’re done with the test, make sure to double-check. If you’re unsure of the answer, put a star on it and get back to it later, this way you can always keep your time managed.
15. Reward Yourself
Reinforcements are mandatory if you want to up your performance. It doesn’t have to be fancy and expensive, get something you find pleasure in even if it’s just hanging out with your pet. Psychologists have emphasized the positive outcomes associated with reinforces that motivate and strengthen the behaviour.
In all honesty, the secret tips will only bring about a change if you study properly, they might help you in improvising your strategies and tactics but in the end, your fate lies in your hands.
Author Bio
Faiza Farooqi is an Online writer at Simply Studies who help students pursue career-enhancing certifications and talks about career counselling around the internet.