Sleep, Last Minute Studying, and Other Test Day Tips
Sleep
Though parents think about this more than our students, we'd like to share our thinking on lack of sleep. Don't be afraid of it. Lack of sleep doesn't affect the brain. And when it does affect the body it does so late in the day. Even if you only get 3 hours' sleep the night before the SAT, body and brain are still fine in the AM. The sleepiness that may ensue does so in the late afternoon, long after the SAT is over. Nobody feels sleepy in the middle of a test.
Last Minute Studying
Don't be afraid to study on Friday night - with the emphasis on reviewing what you're good at. I'd stop by 10 pm and try to be asleep by 11, but if the latter doesn't happen until 2am, don't wake up at 7 and say "Poor me, I'm sleep-deprived". You got 2 hours more than many students who will nevertheless peak on the SAT.
If a student has put in an hour a night review from Sunday through Thursday, there's no need for more than an hour on Friday night. In no case should SAT study exceed 3 hours Friday night. There's just not that much more you can do, and it could be detrimental. Go to an early movie instead.
Other Friday Night Tips
- Do not take a stimulant that you are unused to for test day.
- Don't worry about waking up with minor sniffles, or a tummy ache. People suffering from allergies or mild colds can and do nail peak scores on test day. Don't create an excuse to fall short.
- No matter how much you realize you don't know well, focus on what you DO know well. If anything, think about the kids who are coming into this cold.
Test Day Tips
- Don't read the directions! The directions are the same as those on the SATs you took before or practiced with. There will be no surprises. So it's a waste of time to meticulously pore over the directions. Get right to the questions.
- Minimize the times you look at your watch. Doing so distracts. So long as you are working on problems at the best pace you can, you are doing the right thing. Since the SAT is generally ordered from easy to difficult, the only reason for knowing how much time you have left is in the Reading Comprehension section, which is the one area with blocks of questions. Our suggestion is to look at your watch after you've completed the 19 Short Verbal questions and assess whether you can take on all the Reading Comp or whether you need to drop one of the sections.
- If given a choice, sit in the back of the room. Proctors sit in the front and some of them make noise.
- If a math question looks like it involves lengthy calculations, a shortcut almost certainly exists - try to find it.
- If a Reading question involves a line reference, be prepared to reread a sentence prior to that line.