SAT Prep Tips
Taking the SAT can be a very stressful endeavor for many high school students. Unfortunately, in order to do well on the SAT, most people have to spend myriad hours studying, which can be even more stressful than taking the test itself. Students these days feel enormous pressure to do well on the SAT, and given the test’s tricky style, this can make studying very difficult. Thankfully, there are tons of little tricks and tips that can be applied to make studying for the SAT a lot easier. Read on for some of the best of the bunch.
Study in Multiple Places
While it’s important to find a place where you are comfortable and focused for studying, research has shown that people retain knowledge better when they alternate their study spaces, because then they have a unique visual memory to attach to the knowledge they have stored. Spend some time studying in your room, some time in the living room, some time in the library, and some time at a coffee shop. Each day, pick a new location, and your mind will be able to retain more information that will help you recall all those notes you took when the test day comes.
Make Flash Cards
Flash cards are one of the most traditional and conventional forms of learning, but with a test like the SAT, they make absolutely perfect sense. Flash cards can be used to help you memorize vocabulary words (or their roots), or even mathematical principles. Flash cards are an excellent method for quickly retaining important information.
Take Care of Yourself
Many students spend the final days before taking the SAT in a studious and stressed out frenzy. They stay up late studying and don’t get enough sleep. They snack on junk food or pound caffeinated drinks so that they don’t have to leave their prep books. Studying hard is good-and necessary-but it’s equally important to take time to take care of your body. If you take the SAT when you’re sleep deprived, full of sugar and caffeine, and extremely stressed out, you simply will not maximize your mental capacity. It’s better to study for six hours and take care of yourself than to study for ten hours while neglecting your overall health. So make sure that you eat well and sleep enough, and on the night before the SAT put down the test prep book and watch your favorite movie to put you in a good mental space.
Find a Study Buddy
Study buddies can be extremely useful, and that is especially true during SAT prep. Because the SAT has three different components, you are probably more comfortable with certain parts of the test than with other parts. Likewise, you probably have a friend who is the same way, but with different strengths. If you study with him or her, you can help each other by sharing your strengths. Furthermore, studies have shown that one of the best ways to retain knowledge is to teach it. If you are helping your friends with their SAT prep, you will simultaneously be further ingraining those lessons in your own brain.
With these tips, you should be able to do your best on the SAT without stressing too much in the process. Good luck!
This article was written on behalf of the Launch Education Group, your number one choice when looking for more help when studying for the SAT. Check out their website at http://launcheducation.com/ for more information!
