there\u2019s a skeleton in my sat closet. it\u2019s something i don\u2019t always tell to students, but there\u2019s a lesson to be learned, so here it goes: i could have done a lot better in prepping for my test. there, i said it.<\/p>\n
i took a classroom-style course from one of the major prep companies, but i just didn\u2019t care enough. i once left the class to get a drink from the cafeteria, then went outside and watched the other students doing that boring stuff while i sat in the sun and sipped my drink.<\/p>\n
the irony is that years later, i realized i actually enjoyed <\/i>using the skills that the sat is designed to test. and i had every reason to be focused. i could have gotten higher scores and been a better candidate for higher-tier schools. i could have been more likely to get scholarship money so i wouldn\u2019t have so much debt, now. it was, in many ways, the single most important test i\u2019ve ever taken, and i might have actually taken some pleasure from preparing for it. so why did i choose a bottle of coke and some sunlight over improving my sat score?<\/p>\n
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the short answer is that i didn\u2019t feel like it was my choice. i was there mostly because of pressure from my parents, as many students who enroll in those courses are. there were more factors, sure\u2014the dryness of the teacher, the mixed skill-level class, and my already quite high score\u2014but the biggest problem was that i wasn\u2019t self-motivated. it was all external pressure.<\/p>\n
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knowing why you are taking the sat is vital. you need to know it every day. you realize how massively important which college you go to is, and where that is depends on your score. yes, your grades and extra-curricular activities count for a whole lot. but this test is also the single simplest factor to make dramatic changes in. you can<\/i> bring up your score, and you can bring it up a lot\u2014just so long as you put the effort in. don\u2019t let any one class suffer badly for it, but put the sat high up in your priorities. but if you\u2019re already sunk into the doldrums of apathy, for whatever reason, there are ways to get out.<\/p>\n
first, take some of the outside pressure away. if you start feeling like you \u201chave to\u201d do some sat studying, ex the thought away with a mental \u201ccommand+w,\u201d and replace it with a reminder that you\u2019re doing this because you <\/i>want to. nobody else\u2019s college options depend on it. try to build a positive, personal association with prep, and avoid doing it only when you hate the idea.<\/p>\n