Top 10 Essential SAT Test Taking Tips

Most students, once they reach test day, have studied, have prepped, have done everything they can do, and then shoot themselves in the foot anyway by stressing out over it. It happens time and time again. Stress is a KILLER on this test. There is a literal fight-or-flight response our bodies have. If we start to panic, various glands in the body start firing off hormones that cloud the brain with panic messages. When we were living in the wild and had to run from a saber-tooth tiger, a panic message that said, "Drop the basket-weaving! Run!" was a good thing. When you're taking a timed test to try to get into college, it's not helpful. There are no saber-toothed tigers in the SAT testing room. Click here to see all 10.

1. Practice Practice Practice
   Your preparation of the material is absolutely critical to your level of confidence and understanding. Only rigorous study drills will prepare you for all of the nuances of the testmakers traps. If you know what they look like, you will spend less time finding them and you’ll already have the confidence needed to pick your answers.
2. Build Vocabulary
   An extensive sophisticated vocabulary is critical for the ability to eliminate answer choices and exposing the correct answer choices throughout the test; Math, Critical Reading and Critical Writing. Start your SAT vocabulary drills at least two months prior to the test for full comprehension.
   
3. Don’t Cram
   What do marathon runners do the day before a marathon? They carb up. They sit around eating spaghetti and go to bed early. You need to do the same thing. Well, not all those carbs, but mental carbing. Vegging, more specifically. The night before the test, do not do ANY work after about 4 p.m. (no homework, no projects, no SATs allowed, please.) Watch Twilight or Tranformers or play Sims or flip through a magazine - and make it Glamour, not Newsweek. Veg out. Then go to bed early. The thing is, our brains like to work. As much fun as a little vegging seems, your brain will wake up early the next day clapping its hands together, going "Okay! When do we get to go back to doing stuff?" And that's what you want. A nice, happy, well-rested active brain that's ready to work.
   
4. Get Organized
   Reduce your stress by organizing your plans early. Have your SAT Test admission ticket ready along with a valid form of identification, a calculator, a watch, #2 pencils, and a high energy, high protein nutrition bar.
   
5. Be Rested
   Not just the night before, but two or three days before. It takes our bodies a few days for sleep to catch up with us, so as hard as it is as a junior or senior in high school to get a full 8 hours a night during the school week, try. A bad night on Wednesday can hit you on Saturday morning, especially since the test is so early in the day.
   
6. Wake Up Early
   Get up early and get the brain working. Now is the time to maybe do a couple of math problems or skim over your SAT vocabulary cards again. Kick the brain into action so that it's ready to work by the time the test starts, not waking up on Section 3.
   
7. Eat a Health Breakfast on Test Day
   Even if you don't normally eat breakfast, a calorie is energy, and it takes calories to give your brain the energy it needs for such a long test. Have something healthy that has both protein and fiber - oatmeal with milk, or eggs and whole wheat toast. You don't want to be stuffed, but you want to stay full enough that you're not distracted by your grumbling stomach by the end.
   
8. Dress in Layers
   Don’t let the weather be a distraction. If you dress in layers, and it’s too warm, you’re already set. Be prepared for any extreme.
   
9. Stay Calm
   If you don't know the answer to a question, you don't know it. There is nothing you can do when tied to a chair for four hours that will magically make the answer appear. Calmly skip any difficult questions and calmly return to them later if you have time. Calmly evaluate any answers you get that aren't options to see what careless mistake you may have made and calmly fix it. Don't let your adrenal glands start telling you that there are tigers in the room.
   
10. Use Your Breaks
    They're short, but use them. Go to the bathroom if you have to, eat your snack, stretch. Get off your feet and get some blood into your body. Don't talk about the test with your friends; it will only psych you out. Just shake off whatever you've just done and get yourself ready to go on.