Ellavate Your ACT/SAT
Happy Friday everyone! I decided to post my article early this week because I know that many students are taking the SAT tomorrow and I wanted to share some of my favorite tips. This post will include tips for studying and also tips in general such as what you should bring, how you can prepare outside of studying, and balanced meals to eat before taking the test. Some of these tips will be helpful for those of you taking the test tomorrow, while other tips will be helpful if you are taking the test in the future.
I want to begin by saying you all are going to do amazing and your grade does not define your worth. Do the best you can, focus, and give all the effort you have in that moment. Believe in yourself.
I think the first order of business is to shift your perspective. Stop dreading this test. Yes, it sucks. Yes, I know you would rather be doing anything else right now. But, guess what? You aren’t and this isn’t really an option. So, the hard truth is… get over it. I promise you it is not as bad as everyone says it is. The more negative energy you give to this test, the more strenuous it is going to feel.
There are two tough parts of the test: Preparing/ studying for the test and taking the test. There are ways to make studying more enjoyable.
Get a good tutor, one that makes you laugh and not feel stressed.
Find a good study buddy. This means a person that is fun, yet will hold you accountable and not get you off task too much.
Go to a coffee shop and treat yourself.
Come up with incentives. You could separate what you need to study into topics and once you finish a certain topic, buy yourself something, take a break, etc. You can also give yourself an incentive if you get a certain score.
Study Tips:
Take tons and tons and tons of practice tests. The more you see the questions the better. Determine what sections you need to improve and what sections you don’t. Don’t focus as much on the sections you are scoring well on. For example, for my first ACT I focused on all the sections, but with a heavy emphasis on the grammar and math. The grammar has very specific rules so if you learn them and practice them, you can master them no problem. For my second ACT, I pretty much only focused on math and science. Remember, you don’t need to take full tests all the time. You can go by section. My tutor would give me sections to complete and I would plan out what days I was going to do what section. Then, I would correct them and figure out what I did wrong and how I can prevent it from happening again.
Review your mistakes. Too often we run out of steam and take the test, but don’t review it. The tests are not going to help if you don’t go over them. You don’t have to go over them the day you take the test. Correct your mistakes the next day if you are too tired.
That brings me to my next point, if you are too tired it is not worth your time. You know yourself. You know when you are actually tired vs. when you are procrastinating and ignoring your responsibilities. Taking a test to take a test will not help you.
Schedule a certain time each day or every other day or however often you want to study. At that time, make yourself go study.
Set a timer. If you aren’t feeling like studying or want to make sure you study for a certain amount of time, set an alarm. Make yourself do good and productive work during this time.
If you don’t understand a topic, ask for help. Either ask a tutor, a teacher, a friend, whoever. I am always here to answer any questions! I also love to watch videos when I’m confused. Either look up the topic or the question and you should get tons of videos chock full of information.
Find a method that works for you. Everyone will be different. For example, some people will need to watch videos and take notes, some will need to take tests, some will want to look up questions online, etc. I think everyone could benefit from taking practice tests/ sections, but sometimes I liked to take the tests with the answer key nearby. This way, I could decide what I would answer myself and then check as I go along so that if I got something wrong it would be fresh in my mind.
Buy/ use the official book. You can use the PDF online or buy the book. I took the ACT so I bought the official ACT book and it had tons of tests with the answers and explanations for each. I also used ACT flashcards very occasionally if I didn’t want to commit to a full section of practice. There are so many practice tests online, just look them up!
Study hardcore for a bit, but the week or so leading up relax on your studying. I found that not doing anything to study for the last week helped so much. I was refreshed and ready to go. The day or so before review some of the little tips like the grammar rules. Do this for 5-10 minutes, not a long time.
Mental Health Tips:
Be ready to take the test. I know this sounds so stupid because you may be wondering how you can ever be fully ready, but it is about mindset. Tell yourself that you can do this and that you are going to do amazing.
Do what you want the night before. This looks different for everyone, but know what you need. For me, I need to have a super chill Friday. I will meditate, do yoga, have something yummy but with protein for dinner, and watch TV. I love reading, but not the night before the test because I know I will have tons of reading to do the next day. Other people may want to party with their friends to release some steam.
Go to bed at a reasonable hour. One of the most important things to prepare is to be well rested. This sounds cliché, but I have truly noticed a difference. I even make sure that I take a nap at least once during the week leading up.
Move your body. It makes you feel good and it’s good for you!
On the day of, wake up so that you have enough time to get ready and prepare yourself. Give yourself a minute to wake up.
Food Tips:
The night before, eat something that makes you feel happy, but make sure it will keep you full through the night.
Morning recipes: I tend to eat the same breakfast that has been getting me through the school day so that I don’t experiment on test day. If you don’t normally eat anything, I would highly recommend eating at least something before the test. Food is our fuel and your brain needs food to power it.
Oatmeal: add berries, nut butter, chia/hemp seeds, and/or anything else.
Overnight Oats: Add any toppings
Omelet or eggs: You can make them in the morning or grab them from Dunkin or Starbucks. I love the egg bites or feta wrap from Starbucks
Avocado toast
Healthy cereal: make sure there is enough fiber and protein to get you through the first couple sections
Have some caffeine: This test is long, so you may need a little push of help to get through it. I prefer tea, many like coffee.
Snacks: One of the biggest tips is even if you are not hungry at the break, at least eat a few bites. Drink some water and caffeine and have a bite to eat.
I like to bring something with carbs, protein, and sugar. My go to snacks are cashews and tart dried cherries. Call me crazy, but I like to bring tons of options. Last time I brought the snacks listed above as well as protein bars, fresh fruit, and candied pecans. Protein will help keep you full, but I like to bring something with sugar to perk me up. I also bring tea, water, and kombucha.
What to bring:
Fully charged calculator: charge it or add new batteries no matter what.
Number 2 pencils: if you don’t have any, they will have some but it is nice to have your own.
Snacks and drink
Testing ticket: when you sign up, there should be a ticket for you to print
Your ID
A jacket
Extra hair-tie?
What to wear:
Obviously, wear whatever you feel comfortable in but for me this is sweatpants, my comfiest bra, a crop top, and a sweatshirt. I then wear fuzzy socks and Birkenstocks. I know… it’s really a cute look. Expect to see it on the runway in New York Fashion Week. I always wear my hair tied back. I like doing a braid or low pony because then it won’t hurt your hair being up the whole time.
Other tips:
I thought I would be the person who doesn’t like to talk to anyone on the way to the test, but no. For my second test, one of my really good family friends drove me and I had the best time talking with her. I think it ended up helping because I could calm down and focus on something other than the test. My second test was at a location about 45 minutes away whereas my first test was 5 minutes away at my school. I liked going to the farther location better because it gave me more time to wake up and get ready.
Go kill it!!!