It’s time to review some of the realities of test prep. (Don’t worry, you’re in good hands: understanding the dynamic terrain of the SAT/ACT is, after all, both my passion and my job.)
For my Juniors reading this, there’s a good chance you’ll be taking the SAT in less than two weeks, and for some of you, this will be your very first attempt. Others among you may have either recently taken an ACT (likely your first attempt), and/or are gearing up to sit for it in April.
I know the stakes are high. I know it sometimes feels like you can feel the cortisol coursing through your body. In other words, the pressure is starting to brew…kinda like when you’re cooking up some rigatoni pasta and you see those tiny bubbles start to collect on the inside of the pot—right before they go ballistic on you and the pot boils over. Eek! Hope it didn’t splash on your hand!
But I’m here to tell you that what your natural instinct is—as far as this boil-boil-toil-and-trouble analogy pertains to your studying for the SAT or ACT—is probably dead wrong!
You see, the reaction process—among students who don’t know better—often looks like this:
Step 1—tiny bubbles: Huh, my homework load is pretty light right now, I don’t have many school exams in the hopper, and my SAT feels like it’s eons away…why not coast for now and skip that homework assignment my tutor gave me on coordinate geometry? I can always return to it later, when I really need to learn it.
Step 2—boiling water spilling all over your stove: Oh my gosh, the test is just ONE WEEK AWAY! There’s so much I still need to learn! Well…I guess I’ll just have to CRAM!
Now tell me: can you guess why this plan is probably not a recipe for success (or for very good rigatoni)?
Never fear. I’ve got a MUCH better strategy for how to use your precious time the week before the Big Test.
1) Don’t Cram for the SAT or ACT!
This may not be what you want to hear, but it’s the truth: one week before a test, you essentially know what you know….and likely won’t retain any content you introduce. The reality is that it takes SIX repetitions of learning/practicing a new thing—whether that thing is a fact, formula, or rule—before your brain really holds on to it. That means that seven days is not enough time to commit a significant amount of brand-new information to memory. (Also, please don’t go ballistic and take five practice tests the week before the test—that won’t help, either!)
2) Use Your Last Week before the SAT or ACT to Review Old Content
While you’re unlikely to learn something completely new in the seven days before the test, you CAN return to your test-prep layups and get those moves securely stored in your brain. What I mean by “test-prep layups” is the content that you sort of know. You’ve definitely learned the question type/fact before and practiced it before, but you sometimes stumble on it when you take relevant problem sets or practice tests. Your brain has seen this information 3-4 times already, and so would only need a little refresh to really get it, deep down—and nab those sweet, sweet points come test day.
You might be wondering what the most efficient way to do this is. Well, fortunately I wrote a whole article on just that—my famous “Things to Remember” List strategy! Check out that blog post: it’s designed specifically to help you improve in areas where you have some of the content in the bag, but still have some weak spots.
3) Manage your Nerves the Week Before Your SAT or ACT!
So in the next week you’ll be collecting and committing to understanding those half-known facts and formulas. But I’d also like you to commit to taking care of yourself! Though I’m a big believer in self-care as a broader principle for a healthy life, this is no New Age-y mantra: observing these principles in the week before your test will have a very material effect on your brain, body—and score.
I’m talking (eight hours of) sleep every night. Eating regularly and nutritiously. Getting your homework and school projects done Monday or Tuesday so you don’t have to pull any all-nighters later in the week (which could throw your biorhythms off when it comes to Saturday/test day). No staying up late on Friday, whether it’s to socialize or to binge-watch Love Island. Double-checking before the morning-of that you’ve assembled the seven items you should bring with you to the testing center. Using your “Things to Remember” List as your study guide to read every night right before you hit the pillow. That correct preparation will quell any testing anxiety you have.
(By the way, I’ve got lots more tips for how to manage week-of and day-of nerves in my online Testing Confidence Course!)
4) Use spring break dive into new content for your next SAT or ACT.
For now, just bookmark that week off as future study time. If you're really hellbent on “cramming” new content, try it out during your Spring Break (in preparation for your next SAT or ACT) and see how much you can learn! After all, it won’t really be “cramming,” as you’ll have lots of time after to revisit anything you study.
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This post has been a lesson in how to pause, take a breath, and think realistically about how to use your remaining time well. You pretty much know what you know at this point, and there's no point in deluding yourself that you’ll make huge leaps and bounds in the next seven days before the test. Instead, take some expert advice (that would be mine!) and do the stuff that can actually help your score right now.
Eager to avoid more studying crunches in the future? I can work with you to develop a custom, big-picture study plan for your next SAT or ACT. Let me handle the burden of making sure you have enough time to learn what’s necessary to hit your target score—but not so much time that you peak too early. Reach out here.
