SAT Test Tips for Anxiety

Knowledge is power

Many students suffer SAT test anxiety simply because they do not understand the test and its true purpose. Quite simply, the test is administered so colleges can have a way to compare all of their applicants against each other.

Because the test, unfortunately, would not be as meaningful if it were easy and everyone scored very highly, and therefore remained undifferentiated, the test makers deliberately make it very difficult and place challenging time constraints on you, the test taker.

The college admissions equation

A common misconception about the SAT is that it is the only item in your college application that the admissions committees care about.  While we do not want to discourage you from taking the SAT seriously, the fact remains that the admissions committees view the SAT as only one of a number of important factors in your candidacy.

Even if you score below the lowest quartile for your first-choice college or university, you still may get accepted if you charm the admissions committees with your extracurricular activities, letters of reference, transcripts, etc. You are taking the SAT because you want to get into college, right? (Seriously consider having yourself committed if you answer this rhetorical question with a "no"!)

SAT grading

Most of you, have become accustomed to a grading scale where 90% is barely an "A". If you get 90% of the SAT questions correct, you will be staring at a score in the neighborhood of 1400! If you are a 1400 SAT score student, then 90% on a "regular" test is probably absurdly low for you.

Getting 60% of the questions correct -- with none wrong -- gives you a score in the vicinity of 1000, which is still above the national average.

What's our point? (Yes, we do have one.) Don't start sweating when you quickly realize that this exam is a bit more difficult than the ones you have seen before in your classes. And realize that you can still get a very good score even if you are guessing at far more questions than you ever did on any of your teacher's tests.

The testing environment and your proctologist proctor

Many students we have talked to reported anxiety over the whole "arrangement" of the test, i.e. they are told when they can take it, where they can take it, etc. Then, they are told where to sit, when to begin, when to end, when they may visit the restroom, and what they can and can not do during the test.

We must accept the fact that the SAT has a quasi-monopoly on college admissions testing. Unfortunately, there is no way around this. In terms of the proctor, keep in mind they must appear to be authoritative so they can maintain control over the testing.

Everyone else in the room is feeling the same anxiety we just described here, so controlling your anxiety can only be an advantage for you.

Visualization and simulation

It is worth repeating again here. Adequate preparation will help you control your anxiety. If you are still concerned about your nerves, you may want to try a powerful technique often used by athletes but equally applicable to the SAT test -- visualization.

Visualize yourself taking the test. Try to develop a picture of how you will work through your problems. As simple as this sounds, this technique has worked for SAT students in the past.

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