we’re leaving together,
but still it’s farewell
and maybe we’ll come back,
to earth, who can tell?
i guess there is no one to blame
we’re leaving ground
will things ever be the same again?it’s the final countdown
the final countdown
it’s like the band europe knew exactly what you’d feel like 2 days before your sat when they penned this epic final march song. so while you might not actually be leaving earth and blasting off into space this saturday, we can all agree that taking the sat can feel just as intense and as stressful as if you were. 🙂
so to make sure you can march on to your sat as confidently as this final countdown song demands that you do, i’m sharing a list of tips you should take advantage of before saturday. whether you need a last-minute refresher of concepts you’ve already been studying for months, or if you need a 2-minute crash course on the sat just to cover your bases, the 6 tips that follow are for you:
1) take a full length practice test:
it’s a no-brainer–you’ll need to get familiar with the test format, lingo, and general feel so that you can limit the surprise factor on the day of your actual test. there are a handful of free sat practice tests you can take advantage of, so get started asap. and if you can’t get your hands on a full length practice test, more general practice with high quality sat practice questions will also do the trick!
2) learn from your mistakes:
don’t just breeze through the practice test on auto-pilot; use this as a learning opportunity! after you’ve taken the full length test in tip 1, check your scores and see how you did. which questions did you miss? why did you miss them? write it down. this is a key part of the learning process that will help you avoid those same mistakes on saturday.
3) review concepts:
after you’ve figured out where your mistakes happened, it’s time to review those areas–even if just briefly–so that you can boost those weaker areas. magoosh comes with lesson videos that cover all the core concepts you’ll need to know for the sat, so you can search our list of sat lessons for a video that covers the topics you missed on the practice test. but if you don’t have a magoosh sat account but have access to a library, you can try one of these best sat books instead to help you review.
4) take another practice test:
if you have the energy and time and can brave another full length test, then do it! there’s truth to the saying the practice makes…better, so taking another test–especially after you’ve learned from the mistakes you made the first time around–will do you a world of good.
5) get ready for the big day:
make sure all your tools, id, snacks and such are packed and ready to go. have your clothes for the day already laid out, and confirm what your means of transportation to the test center will be on saturday morning. the college board has a handy checklist that can help make this tip a breeze!
6) rest:
be sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before your sat. you won’t help yourself even a little bit if you pull an all-nighter the night before; in fact, that might do a lot more damage and rob you of the memory-storing sleep you need to make sure all that you’ve learned 2 days before your test sticks.
and that’s all, folks! when saturday morning rolls around, i hope following these tips gives you enough reassurance to handle your final countdown with poise and elegance. good luck. 🙂
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