The Don’ts of SAT and ACT Prep: Part 2

In part 1, I cover important tips for the months and days leading up to the SAT or ACT. Today let’s tackle the Don’ts of test day.

Don’t Forget to Sleep

Several years ago I taught an SAT class in which one student explained to me why he was there. “I can’t submit my ACT scores now because I bombed it. I stayed out the night before until 5:00 am and fell asleep during the test. Now I have to take the SAT.” Sigh.

I know none of you plan on staying out until 5:00 am before your test, right? Hasn’t your mother told you that nothing good happens after midnight? And even midnight is too late of a bedtime the night before the SAT or the ACT. The tests are up to 5 hours long! If you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you’re going to fade just over halfway through. I know that many high school social and athletic events occur on Friday nights, but think about the events you might miss out on at the college of your choice if you don’t get the test scores needed to go there.

Don’t Forget to Eat

I admit it. I’ve been that person in a testing room whose stomach has growled and distracted everyone in the room. Not only did I lose focus from hunger, but also from embarrassment of the sounds emanating from my core. Since then, I don’t take the SAT or ACT without eating breakfast and packing a snack to eat on my break. It’s a proven fact that breakfast increases your concentration, mood, and memory, so pick a healthy meal to help you get through the test. Food that is high in protein will keep you full longer, although if you don’t usually eat a breakfast bean burrito, the day of the SAT is not a good time to start. Choose an innocuous protein bar if you are not normally a breakfast eater.

Don’t Finish Early

Every time I take the SAT or ACT, without fail, several students finish a section and put their heads down. The teacher in me wants to get up and shake them, but the competitor in me inwardly smiles because they instantly become a lower statistic on the percentile rankings. It is SAT and ACT suicide to assume that you are so intelligent you selected all of the right answers on the first pass through a section. I consistently score in the 99^th percentile, and I consistently find mistakes when I go back and check my work when there is time remaining. Remember, the questions are designed to take advantage of your assumptions and your inattention to detail, so reviewing your answers will either confirm their selection or help your see the trap into which you fell.

Note: This article is full of SAT vocabulary words (innocuous, meticulous, and painstaking, just to name a few). For their definitions, and the definitions of other common SAT words, check out our Repeat Offenders!