Written by Illia Solano
This is the second post in a series on Test Prep. If you haven’t read the first post, do so here!
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It is time. You’ve been prepping for months now, all you can see in your sleep is the SAT and questions in the test. It keeps you awake day and night. When will the torment end?
Right after you crush the test!
But first, you have to relax. Relax? Yes, relax.
Relax, Seriously
The day before the test isn’t a day to cram everything that you can into your head. That is what the months before the test were for, to study so you can be ready for the test. The Friday before the special day, all you have to do is let go of everything. All of your worries, doubts, overall nervousness. Gone.
You have to trust that all of the work you’ve done will pay off the next day. It is hard to do this but it is necessary.
Be Prepared
Since the test is on a Saturday morning at around 8, it is good to have all of your materials ready the day before. The checklist says that it is important to carry your ticket, No. 2 pencils, an approved calculator, and an ID. I say bring all those things but make it over 4 pencils – just in case – and a little snack for later. You will be testing for a long time, it is better to have something during the break than nothing. Have it all ready and packed in a bag.
Now you are ready for the day. It is time to get this bread!
Plan Your Morning
Okay, if you are anything like me, it is a battle to get out of bed. The doors open at 7:45, so you have to be there at least around 7:30. What I did was wake up at 5:30. It took me about 20 minutes to actually get out of bed and take a shower. The shower is of course optional if you’re not feeling up to it that day, don’t. You do you boo.
After the shower I had to have my one-on-one meeting with myself to get mentally ready. I was already basically ready to go, but getting myself in the right headspace was an important step for the day.
Right after that, I went to eat a heavy breakfast. Some eggs and bread that would sustain me for the day. I suppose that breakfast is also optional here, but it is highly recommended.
When I was done with breakfast it was already 7 sharp. Still had some time to spare, oh yeah! So I got my bag and got ready to head out. I double-checked that everything was there and went my way.
The school I was testing at was relatively close, so I didn’t have to worry about traffic or anything like that. But it is important to check for traffic and directions of the test center the day before. Gotta be ready for anything.
Once You’re There
All that was left to do was wait for the doors to open. Once they did I had to find my name on some papers on the wall. Bit of advice here, if you are taking the SAT with the essay, your name will be on a different paper. Because I was panicking for a good 20 seconds before I found out that there are separate rosters for normal SAT takers and SAT takers with the essay.
After that, you would go to your assigned classroom with your ticket and ID to finally get started with the SAT.
Was I scared? Of course I was. But I had to keep on reminding myself that all of the work I had done before would work in my favor.
If you don’t do as well as you hoped for, you can always retake the test. This day isn’t the end of the world. The SAT is a standardized test and it doesn’t define who you are as a person.
Like my post? Read more here:
How to be Confident without Being Confident: A Guide of a Kind-of-Confident Person
