The Week of the SAT: What You Should Do

The SAT is this Saturday!!

This week, you are not trying to learn a bunch of brand-new information. You are trying to remember and strengthen the strategies you have already learned so that you can recognize exactly what to do when you see each type of question on Saturday.

Focus on Your Most Important Strategies

Choose the top three or four things you most need to remember on test day. For many of you, that should include:

⭐️ Subject–verb rule: Excluding the intro clause, the subject is the first word or phrase, and the verb comes directly after it.

⭐️ First word = subject: Main clause.

⭐️ First word = an "English" or connecting word: Intro clause.

⭐️ Reading: Start with the answers.

⭐️ Grammar: Start with the answers.

⭐️ "Infinite," "no," or "how many" solutions: You need TWO lines!

⭐️ Stuck on a math question? First, graph or draw whatever you can. Then read through the question and answer choices for clues.

Do not try to review every single thing you have ever learned. Pick the strategies you are most likely to forget under pressure and make sure those are completely fresh.

Strategy Mastery Is Priority #1 This Week

Once or twice every day, go through Strategy Mastery on our website. Yes, every day! It should only take about 5–10 minutes, and it is probably the best use of your study time this week.

You are not trying to learn new things. You are trying to retain what you have already learned and train your brain to recognize each strategy automatically. On Saturday, I do not want you sitting there thinking, "I know we talked about this, but I cannot remember what I am supposed to do." I want you to see the question and immediately recognize the pattern. The best way to make that happen is repeated, quick review throughout the week—not one giant study session the night before.

Plan Your Studying Now

Do not wait until Thursday night to realize you still have an entire practice test, three assignments, and a week of missed homework left to complete. Look at everything you need to finish and plan it out now. Study a good amount earlier in the week, especially Wednesday and Thursday. Complete your assigned practice, review the questions you missed or guessed on, and make sure you understand why the correct answer works.

You should still be practicing this week. This is not the time to completely stop working. It is simply the time to study intentionally instead of cramming randomly. I would highly recommend taking a full practice test this week, especially if you still need practice sitting through the full test and managing your timing. Just plan it early enough that you have time to review it and recover from it.

Heads up: Friday is a no-study day. The odds of you burning yourself out and walking into the test drained is significantly higher than you learning something new & staying refreshed. If you have school assignments, do not do those on Friday, either. Plan accordingly this week so you have Friday night off.

Review Your Mistakes

The most helpful questions this week are not always the ones you get right. They are the ones that reveal a strategy you forgot, a direction you misread, or a mistake you keep repeating.

When you miss a question, do not just look at the correct answer and move on. Ask yourself: What should I have noticed? Which strategy should I have used? What will I do differently if I see this again Saturday? You do not need to redo hundreds of questions. You need to make sure the questions you do complete are actually teaching you something.

Confirm Your Test Information

Sometime early this week, confirm exactly where you are testing, what time you need to arrive, and which device you are bringing. Make sure Bluebook is downloaded and updated, your exam setup is complete, and you can access your admission ticket. Do not leave this for Friday night.

Also, locate your physical photo ID, charger, calculator, and anything else you plan to bring. You do not have to pack everything yet, but you should know where it is. The morning of the SAT is not the time to discover that your ID is missing or your laptop charger is still at school.

Start Protecting Your Sleep

You do not need to completely change your life this week, but start paying attention to when you are going to sleep. One early bedtime Friday night will not completely fix a week of staying up until 1:00 a.m.

Try to move toward a consistent schedule now so that waking up early Saturday does not feel like a shock. You have spent too much time preparing for this test to lose points because you are exhausted and making careless mistakes.

Trouble Focusing? Consider Blue light glasses.

This is my personal opinion, but I LOVE blue light glasses! I'm on screens a lot during the day, and I find it so much easier to focus with them. If focusing on a screen is a struggle for your student, I'd highly recommend buying a pair on amazon, they're less than $10.

The Goal This Week

Go through Strategy Mastery once or twice every day. Complete your larger assignments earlier in the week. Review your mistakes carefully. Confirm that your testing information and Bluebook setup are ready. Start protecting your sleep.

You've done all the hard work, now is the last push to make sure you're at your best on Saturday and all that studying goes to good use!