As students across the country prepare to take the most important test of their high school careers, anxiety is mounting as the pressure is on to ace the SAT.
According to the College Board, more than 1.5 million students took the SAT in 2009, and that number is expected to increase in 2010. For the hundreds of thousands of students across the United States who sit down to take the four-hour test on October 9, it will be an opportunity to prove why they deserve a seat at their dream college or university.
To help students perform to the best of their ability on test day, here are some quick tips from TutorVista, a leading global online educational company, to improve your score on the SAT:
* Sign up for a tutoring program. Enroll in an SAT prep course for math help, English assistance and essay coaching. Online education sites like TutorVista.com offer both comprehensive and focused courses that provide 24/7, individualized help and allow students to customize study programs based on their current performance and academic goals.
* Utilize practice questions. Ensure that verbal and mathematical concepts are fresh in your mind during the days leading up to the test by answering daily practice questions from an SAT prep book.
* Get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast. Go to bed early the night before the test so you can feel bright and alert the next morning. Eat foods like eggs or oatmeal prior to the test to stay full and maintain energy throughout the duration of the exam.
* Answer easy SAT questions first. Get the easier questions out of the way first, and mark the difficult ones to go back and answer later.
* Eliminate answers. If you are able to eliminate two answers but are unable to decide between the remaining two, select one of the remaining answers rather than skip the question altogether.
Most importantly, students should remember to relax, stay focused, and put their best effort into performing well on the test. The October 9 test is only the first of the fall semester and there are several opportunities for a retake to score higher on the SAT.
