It’s that time of year, juniors. It’s been dreaded since freshman year… SAT season. The first of the new and updated SAT is Saturday, March 5, and the date is rapidly approaching. Don’t freak out though, even though the SAT’s are extremely important, there are still preparations you can make to make your SAT experience less stressful.

College Board, the website you used to register for the SAT’s, is an awesome tool you should utilize. Under the SAT section of the website, you can find sample questions and practice tests to take online, as well as printable documents, that help stimulate sitting down and taking the test with a pencil and paper. College Board also offers an “inside look” into the test and the type of questions you will be expected to answer. For example, under the “reading test” section, you would be able to see that the reading test includes contemporary works of American or World literature. You can do this with every section on the test.

There are also SAT test preparation books you can purchase online or borrow from the library. Make sure to check the Library Media Center in Hawthorne High School to see if they are available! If the books are checked out, don’t worry. You can always look in the town library, or look on the online catalog, BCCLS.

Another tip is to make sure your admission card is completely filled out with all of the correct information before the morning of the test. The last thing you want is to be turned away from taking the test over a slight mistake. 

There are also other quick tips and tricks to help you with the test.

• Don’t cram the night before, it will just stress you out even more.

• Get everything you will need in order to take the test to save time in the morning. This includes:
  • Your SAT admission ticket
  • Photo ID (Check College Board for requirements)
  • #2 Pencils and an eraser
  • A calculator
  • Batteries for your calculator
• Double check your answers.
• Stay focused throughout the test.

Overall, the test is extremely important, and you should strive to do well, without driving yourself crazy over it. Remember, you can take the test more than once if you do not do as well as you wanted to. Utilize College Board, make sure your information is right, and make sure you stay relaxed throughout the test, and you should feel more confident about your results.