You might be well prepared to take your SAT test, but one thing might make you give your test really poorly. This is nervousness. No matter how well versed you are with the syllabus and the lessons; you won’t be able to perform nicely if you have trouble calming your nerves before the exam. Anxiety and nervousness are two of the main reasons why students fail to perform up to their capabilities in their exam.
The SAT is quite an important test which is taken by many students every year. The score obtained in the SAT has a lot of importance on the college the student decides to get in. If the student is not able to perform well in the SAT just because he has a problem with anxiety, then it will be a big disappointment
The best SAT preparation program swears by the following tips to help you increase your focus and concentrate better while preparing for the test as well as during the test.
- One of the most important things that you should keep in mind is sleep. You should not disrupt your sleep schedule for extensive preparation for the test. Sufficient sleep is extremely necessary for maintaining a healthy state of mind. All conceptual tests like that of the SAT require a healthy state of mind. So you need to be well rested especially on the day of the test. You should not try to cram everything up on the last day and be extremely tired on the day of the test. This will ruin your mental state and you will not be able to perform well.
- Students preparing for important exams have a habit of drinking a lot of tea and coffee. Caffeine can actually be a very helpful supplement for all those students who can focus on their work for a long time. It can help you pay more attention to your studies and prepare in a better manner. But having too much caffeine before the test can actually backfire. It might make you very jumpy and jittery. On the day of the test you will have a lot of adrenaline pumping through your body, so that would be enough to keep you alert during the test. No extra amount of caffeine would be required to make you focus more. Excessive caffeine can accelerate your mind to a point where you might end up making a lot of silly mistakes.
- You should be very clear about your own capabilities. You should not expect a 99th percentile on the main test when you have been scoring 50th on most of your practice test. You won’t be able to focus properly if you try to do more problems than you can. This will result in you making more mistakes and scoring even less.
- The place where you take the test will also have a lot to influence. A place that is full of distractions will not help a person who already has issues with attention. SAT coaching centres advises students to choose a centre which according to you would be filled with the least distractions.