Books scattered all over the floor. Papers laying everywhere. Stress levels at 100%. Attention juniors: the time has come to start preparing for the SAT and ACT.  

   The SAT and ACT are standardized tests administered by College Board and by American College Testing (ACT) used to measure a high school student’s readiness for college. The score a student receives can determine what colleges they get into, so it is important to allow adequate time to thoroughly study. However, with the right test prep, the exams are manageable and less daunting. 

   “I spent about two months studying for the SAT. It’s really important to study for these exams because there are so many different types of questions on these exams that you need to learn,” Morgan Castle, senior, said. 

   When studying for the ACT or SAT, it is important to allow enough time to prepare. There are four sections on the SAT: reading, writing and language, math with a calculator, and math without calculator, and there are four sections on the ACT: English, mathematics, reading, and science. Kaplan Test Prep, an online educational tutoring system for high school and college students, recommends that students should study 10 to 20 hours a week over the course of two to three months, depending on how high the student wishes to score. 

   “Every day I spent an hour or two hours going back and reviewing old concepts that I didn’t remember very well or didn’t know how to do. Then, after that, I would spend half an hour reviewing concepts I am very familiar with to get the skills fresh in my mind,” Jedidiah Davis, senior, said. 

   One of the most important strategies a student could have when preparing for the SAT or ACT is to take practice exams. Many online test preparation websites recommended that students take at least one practice exam every two weeks to ensure familiarity with the tests. 

   “It may seem overwhelming, but all of the hard work you put into studying for these tests really pays off when you see how well you did and how many college opportunities it provides for you,” Davis said. 

   When practicing, it is important to keep in mind that the SAT and ACT are not “normal tests,” and they should not be taken as such. These are timed exams, so students do not have time to dwell on one difficult question or spend too much time reading one section. Many tutors recommend to not read the passages while taking the reading and science sections. Instead, read the questions first and then skim the passages to find the answer. 

   “The biggest thing I can recommend is to take as many practice tests as you possibly can. Practice makes permanent,” Sarah Oburu, senior, said. 

   Students often struggle with pacing themselves throughout the exams. The SAT and ACT are both three-hour long tests, and many sections allow less than one minute to complete each question.  Throughout practice exams, exercise pacing strategies. Watching the time while testing will allow students to create a game plan as to how much time it takes them per section, where they need to work on cutting down their time, and what questions they should allow more or less time. 

   “My ACT got canceled a lot, so I ended up getting three months to study. Having this much time allowed me to look up a lot of YouTube videos on how to manage my time, especially on the reading section.  Before doing this, I had never been able to finish the reading section,” Katie Bonsell, senior, said. 

   Practice exams allow students to review their missed questions and identify any patterns in the types of questions they are missing, especially on the math sections. Students tend to spend time reviewing old concepts they feel unsure about to prevent getting the same types of questions wrong. It can be difficult for students to figure out how to get the correct answers on their own, which is why many hire tutors or take prep courses. Some popular online preparation websites include Kaplan, Khan Academy, The Princeton Review, and PrepScholar. 

   “It was so helpful to get math tutoring because I was able to learn tricks so that even if I didn’t know how to solve the math problem, I was able to work backwards and figure it out. It really helped my confidence and time management,” Natalie Nejad, senior, said. 

   The SAT and ACT can be difficult and stress-inducing. However, with proper preparation and time many students can find themselves being successful on these exams.