If you’ve been preparing over weeks or months for an ACT and/or SAT, then you’ve probably spent most of your time learning and reviewing all the math and English grammar covered on them. If you’re shooting for a competitive score at the most selective colleges on your list, I bet you’ve also been taking practice tests to develop effective strategies and recognize common question types. In the end, your SAT or ACT score won’t likely correlate with any meaningful aspect of your future, but it WILL be an accurate measure of two things: knowledge of highly refined academic material and a set of quirky test-taking skills…including how well you manage yourself on Game Day.
Imagine two students among the millions of exam takers each year who, wherever they happened to grow up, have very similar content knowledge and test-taking skills when they sit for an SAT or ACT. Based on all available facts, everyone would predict they’d get the same score. And yet, when Game Day comes, one gets a MUCH higher score than the other. Happens all the time.
Proper Game Day management will help you maximize your score with whatever knowledge and skill you bring to your test center. So here are 12 Steps to Game Day management that, if followed, will lead you to your highest score when it counts (or could count ;-)):
- Get plenty of sleep, nutrition, and exercise leading up to Game Day. This may sound like pat, and not particularly useful, advice adults love to give. And yet, many studies have shown that better-rested students learn more and get better scores on exams. Period. If you don’t believe me, see, for example, “Go to bed! say experts at pajama party panel” in the Harvard Gazette. Eight hours of good sleep the night before the test isn’t enough, either. Get as much sleep as you can the last three nights. Ask for extensions if you need to. Try to exercise and eat low-carb and high protein foods; your body and your mind are—newsflash!— connected and both are sources of intelligence.
- Spend more time studying material, less time taking practice tests. As game day approaches, you will likely have taken enough practices to have reached a point of diminishing returns. Remember that both the SAT and the ACT test your knowledge of a finite body of material. Spend the final days of preparation reviewing and, okay, cramming as much of that material as you can: math facts (CPE’s Math Review Packet©), the 10 Essential Grammar Rules©, and items you got wrong on your practice tests.
- Practice deep breathing and relaxation at each study session. Whether you’re about to take a timed practice section or review your notes or go over problems you previously got wrong—begin each study session by closing your eyes and taking several deep, slow, full breaths of air. Train yourself to breathe deeply to relax your body and oxygenate your brain. Really do practice this so that on Game Day, when you do the same thing—for example, when the bubble sheets and test booklets are being distributed—you will automatically snap into a more relaxed and focused state. Just as in sports, you will perform on Game Day the same way you practice, so practice with clear intention and focus.
- Don’t set an alarm with music (with words). If you wake up to music with lyrics, you run the risk of having those lyrics stuck in your head during the exam. Aerosmith is awesome, but you don’t want Steven Tyler screaming “Dude Looks Like a Lady” in the middle of a reading passage! Set your alarm to classical music or use a digital sound (parents make for good alarms, too ;-)).
- Do your normal morning routine on game day. Don’t be an idiot and gulp down three cups of coffee during breakfast. Instead, be smart and do what you always do (unless you typically skip breakfast—and quit doing that, btw). If you don’t drink coffee, don’t start on Game Day. If you usually have one cup, have one cup. Breakfast IS the most important meal, especially on Game Day, the States, marathons, and other events involving your greatest strength. Eat a low-carb, high-protein meal. Do NOT eat sugared cereal or anything with syrup (you can do that when you get home or for breakfast the next day). Eggs and unsweetened oatmeal (in that order) are the best choices for your brain and body. This will be enough nutrition to carry you through the first 2 1/2 hours. (See #12 below.)
- Write Out Your Worries and Nervousness. Based on solid research conducted by Dr. Sian Beilock, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, and reported in her great book, Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To, spend just a few minutes, maybe while you’re eating eggs and/or oatmeal, WRITING DOWN everything you’re nervous or worried about surrounding the exam you’re about to take; for example, I’m worried I won’t get a good score and be able to go to the colleges I like; I’m nervous there will be a lot of math problems I won’t understand; I’m worried all my friends are going to do better than I can do; I’m concerned my parents may move my bed to the garage; etc. You might think this would heighten your anxiety, but clinical research has shown that it actually has the effect of off-loading your nervousness and test-anxiety, so that when you’re actually taking the test, you can harness more of your brain power (mostly in your pre-frontal cortex) to get questions right. Try it! You have nothing to lose, and lots of points to gain! (Listen to my interview with Sian Beilock, Episode 16 of “Prep Talk with CollegePrepExpress–later, when you have time :))
- Bring ID, pencils, a calculator (with fresh batteries), your own watch, and a snack (see #11 below) to the test center. I hate to insult your intelligence by mentioning these things, but, alas, history has shown that sometimes people forget. As for the calculator, bring the same one that you use for practice tests: the last thing you want is anxiety over finding the bleeping square root key or where they put the trig functions! Also, don’t rely on the clock in the room (it might be inconveniently positioned relative to your seat; might be broken). Best to have your own watch to set on your own desk.
- Listen to Mozart or nothing in the car on the way to the test. For the same reason you don’t want to wake up to music with words (#4 above), don’t listen to music with words on the way to the test center. Classical music, especially Mozart, has been shown to stimulate alpha brainwaves and help put you in a quiet, meditative space. My personal preference on game day would be Mozart’s 40th Symphony. Haydn is perfect, too. NO ROCK (sorry); save that for the party afterwards.
- Reaffirm Your Self-Worth. This is another gem from Dr. Beilock’s research. While you’re sitting in the car listening to Mozart or Haydn or nothing at all, calmly think about all the things you really like about yourself. They can be any qualities that come to mind, so long as they’re true. Maybe you’re a great friend or sister or son. Maybe you’re grateful to be a member of your family or soccer team or jazz band. Maybe you’re happy you’re healthy and safe and have a whole life ahead of you. Or maybe because your dog love you the most in the whole world. Maybe you know in your heart you’re a good person, kind, honest, and generous of spirit. Thinking about the things you like best about yourself, which may or may not have anything to do with school or success on tests, will put you in the best psychological state to achieve your potential on the exam. Feeling confident and comfortable in your own skin as you enter the exam center translates into lots of points.
- Be in your own space at the test center before the test and between sections. Do not consort with your friends. Especially true if your test center is your school or one your classmates commonly go to. Don’t talk to anyone. You don’t have to be rude; you can wave, smile, nod, and otherwise gesticulate, but refrain from hanging out in groups of any size and de-focusing your attention. Politely tell your friends you’ll catch up AFTER the test to find out who said or did what to whom the night before. Breathe deeply and oxygenate your brain. Remind yourself of all the preparation you have put in, and look forward to the opportunity to show what you know! Be quiet, calm, cool, and collected. Think of your sports and performing arts heroes and imagine how focused they would be before an important event.
- Do some mental stretching and layups in the minute or two before each section. While you’re sitting at your desk waiting for the proctor to announce, “Turn the page and begin,” think about the section you’re about to take. For example, if you’re taking the SAT and you’re about to start the first section, Reading, you should think about what you know about the Reading section: I’m going to see 5 passages, I have 13 minutes per passage, and I’m going to read the intro blurbs and skim the questions before reading each passage. I’m going to see lots of evidence-based questions, lots of words-in-context questions, and some infographics questions… If you’re taking the ACT and about to start the first test, English, think about all the grammar rules you remember; the uses of commas, dashes, colons, and semicolons; that there are 5 passages of 15 questions that should take on average nine minute each, etc. Think of it as a quick warm-up before the game. No one shows up for a soccer or basketball game right before the first whistle blows; it’s important to run a couple laps, stretch out, do some layups. Similarly, warm up your brain before each section of whichever exam you’re taking.
- Eat a source of sugar before the last hour. During the break before Section 4 (Math with calc) on the SAT, and before Section 3 (Reading) in the ACT, eat a chocolate bar or an apple or something like that. The sugar will lift you up during your dash to the finish line. Do NOT be tempted to eat it too soon, though, or you might crash before the exam is over. If you get a cantankerous proctor who won’t let you eat anything in the exam room, run to the bathroom and scarf it down there! Wash your hands first ;-).
When it’s all over, you should reward yourself after such a long, arduous journey. Here’s something fun to do as you’re leaving the test center: listen for the jerks (and liars) who say how easy it was and that it was no big deal. Yeah, right. Concentrating as hard as you can for nearly four hours is really easy. Students who claim it was “easy” typically fell into all the traps and just don’t know it yet. Doh! Immediately following an SAT or ACT, you will likely feel as though you’ve had a sizable chunk of your brain removed. That’s normal, and it’s a good sign that you concentrated really hard. Go home and take a nap, and then later on go out and celebrate responsibly with your friends.
See also our CPE-in-3-ish video #9, 6 Tips for Test Center Demeanor, Behavior, and Thinking and our “Prep Talk” with CollegePrepExpress show, “Choking: Testing and Performing Well Under Pressure.”