Overlooked Test Prep Do's and Don'ts

The essential (but sometimes forgotten) do's and don'ts of preparing for the SAT or ACT from someone who's tried them all.

The idea of taking a four-hour test that influences whether you get into the college of your choice is harrowing enough. Preparing for that test is sometimes an even scarier prospect. It’s the age-old question: how do you study for the test that has everything? Do you make flashcards, study vocabulary, memorize math equations? Here are the essential do’s and don’ts of preparing for the SAT or ACT from someone who’s tried them all.

Do: Know how the test works. If this means taking a class to get acquainted, filling out practice tests, or simply researching online, make sure you know what you’re getting into. In timed tests, reading instructions is a waste of precious minutes; know what you’ll have to do for each section before you begin.

Don’t: Think the only good prep costs money. Reading builds vocabulary; math homework adds to your problem-solving skills; paying attention to comments on English assignments improves your writing and grammar. If getting tutored or attending a class isn’t a possibility, you can still study and practice for standardized tests without the help of a professional.

Do: Know the strategies. One of the most helpful SAT prep classes I took was one that simply told me what kind of answers the test was looking for. By just knowing the basics of how the test you’re taking is made, narrowing down answer choices and organizing an essay will be that much easier.

Don’t: Overload yourself with prep classes. A few classes are definitely helpful if you have access to them, but maxing yourself out before taking the test won’t do you any good. Don’t let tutoring take away from your schoolwork—GPA matters in college acceptance decisions just as much as test scores do.

Do: Play to your strengths. If you’re a math whiz but your scores were average, try again. Super-scoring means that taking the SAT again can only help you, and you can wait until after you receive your ACT score to send it to schools.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Meg Matthias

Meg Matthias

Meg Matthias is a high school senior and writer who is almost always at one of the three libraries she belongs to. She is the recent founder of her school newspaper, which she hopes will live up to her journalism-movie-fueled expectations. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her making history flashcards, looking for the perfect red lipstick, or scrolling through college websites to find required SAT scores. She has published poetry online in Rookie magazine but is in lasting love with prose.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

Central Methodist University

Fayette, MO


Courtney Smith

Courtney Smith

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress has been a huge help! The website is very organized with finding the right scholarship for anyone and anything. With CollegeXpress, I've been able to find many scholarship opportunities to apply for. Not only that, I'm also able to search for the colleges I have interest in and see what’s required and what scholarships they offer. I've learned a lot from CollegeXpress. They've helped me in many ways to achieve my goals!

Rhiannon Teeter

Rhiannon Teeter

$2,000 Community Service Scholarship Winner, 2012

I have spent a lot of time aggressively searching for scholarships. It was a long and frustrating process until I found the CollegeXpress network. This site made my search so much easier. With the simple check of a few boxes, the site sorted out scholarships I was eligible for and led me directly to the correct websites. Winning this scholarship has definitely given me and my family some financial relief, and CollegeXpress has allowed me to improve my chances of winning further financial aid. Thank you so much!

Damian Rangel

Damian Rangel

September 2021 Mini Scholarship Winner, High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress has helped me tackle college expenses, which will allow me to put more of my time and effort into my studies without the need of worrying as much about finances.

Keaun Brown

Keaun Brown

$2,000 Community Service Scholarship Winner, 2020

As I transition to furthering my education, I can say with certainty that it simply wouldn’t be possible without the help of generous organizations such as CollegeXpress. Those who initially founded CX had no idea their platform would give a plethora of information to a first-generation homeless kid native to the ghettos of over half a dozen states. Everyone at CX and Carnegie Dartlet gave me a chance at a future when the statistics said I had none. And for that, I thank them.

Nikole Dixon

Nikole Dixon

$500 Refer-a-Friend Scholarship Winner

Toward the beginning of last year, I was searching for scholarships to apply to through my school, town, websites online, and anything else I could find. I asked tons of questions [online] about scholarships and the best places to find them because I was desperate and needed as many as I could find. I came across a ton of bogus websites, but as soon as I found CollegeXpress, I knew I had to tell other people about it. It was definitely the most helpful site I came across, so I told my friends about it. CollegeXpress is definitely a website worth giving as a source.