The time comes for the test every Junior dreads. The supposed make or break for one’s college acceptances track. The SAT.

It was found that “1.5 million students in the high school class of 2021” took the SAT at least one time and the average mean score was a 1060. For some of those reading, that may seem low and cause your anxiety to worsen at the mere thought of this test.

Don’t panic. Some of those statistics are off because of COVID and this is here for some little tips to help you do well on the SAT.

ONE: DON’T STRESS
Seriously. Don’t stress out and overthink it. During test time, you are significantly “dumber” than normal and that’s just because of typical test anxiety. Take a deep breath and just go. Don’t waste time on problems you don’t know, there is no penalty for guessing if you start to run low on time.

TWO: PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME 
You can go in blind, but it won’t help your chance of getting that high score. There are tons of practice online booklets you can buy or there are some tutors who can help. Also, there’s one practice that is amazing for this: Khan Academy. Khan Academy is your friend. It takes your PSAT score and personalizes practice that will help you study.

THREE: GET A GOOD NIGHT REST
Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you hear this all the time from parents or teachers, but it’s true. Eight hours of sleep will help your focus so you won’t doze off during the test.

FOUR: YOU CAN RETAKE IT
If you don’t get that desired score, don’t worry. I keep repeating it because it won’t be the end of the world. You can retake this test as many times as you want. Of course, each attempt does cost money and colleges will be able to see how many times you redid the test, so make your retakes far and few between.

The SAT remains an important part of the college application process. It seems scary but it doesn’t have to be. Prepare well and take care of your body before the test and don’t stress out.