Hello, Rachel Mead here with you today. I am the founder of Enhanced Prep, and I've been working with the SAT® and the ACT® for over 25 years now, and I'm so excited to spend some time with you today sharing with you my expertise. I want to talk a little bit about some strategies, tips, techniques, things that students and parents can do to help eliminate some of the stress and anxiety that comes with sitting for the official exam. Now don't get me wrong, a little bit of stress and a little bit of anxiety when it comes to an official SAT® or ACT® is completely understandable. These are high-stakes exams that the students have to give their best effort on in just a couple of hours stretch to show those admissions officers what they're capable of achieving within the exam. However, there are definitely some things that we can help you do as a student, as a parent, as a family, to diminish that as much as humanly possible. So let's talk about some of the things that we do with our students here to help set them up for success.

The Week Before the Test

First and foremost we want to talk about the week of the exam, because it shouldn't just be the day before or the night before, but really what's going on as you're leading up to that test. First and foremost it's really important that this student is completely hydrated, so that means that whole entire week leading up to it they should be drinking between half an ounce to one ounce of water for each pound of body weight that they have, so 120 pound student should realistically be drinking somewhere between 60 and a 120 ounces of water every day over the course of that week. Hydration is such an important part of making sure that the mental acuity and the mental focus is going to show up when it needs to.

It's also really important that the students surround themselves with positivity. This means as much as they can in their friend group, at school, at home, extracurricular activities. So parents again this is a great way for you to be supportive in terms of keeping that focus around the good things that are coming their way. It’s also important that students have a calm mindset going into their official exam. Typically that means acknowledgment of saying I've done the work and the preparation that I should for this exam and resting soundly in the work and effort that they've put forth so far, because now it's an opportunity to say this exam is about being able to prove what I've learned and prove what I've accomplished.

Consistency is huge in terms of having a student feel in charge and in control of their environment leading into their official SAT® or their official ACT®. This means to maintain their schedule to the status quo as much as they can. We know obviously there could be some larger projects. There could be some large assignments, a big test coming in in school, but it's really important to plan ahead for those things as much as possible because you even if they're not cramming for the SAT® or the ACT®, any type of cramming they're doing that week is going to take a mental drain in their what I like to call their “brain juice” leading into that. So the more consistent and calm, like we said, that environment can be as a whole it's really going to help the students put their best effort forward when it comes to their official exam.

The Day Before the Test

So then what about the day before? So again this is looking at Friday if they're testing on Saturday or for those students that are testing on Sunday it's what their Saturday should be like. We always tell students it's important to stop studying at least 24 hours prior to the exam. So if that means the student is testing on Saturday once they get home from school on Friday it's important that as much as humanly possible all and every academic material gets set aside until after they're completing their tests. This also means they should not be studying for their SAT® or ACT® any longer, because it's just going to convolute the foundation of what they already have in place.

It’s also important that the student use this time after school on Friday or on Saturday afternoon again if they're testing on Sunday to do something that they enjoy, something that helps them relax. Is this going to be watching a movie, or reading, or journaling, or playing basketball, or doing something with their friends, right? This is all about the downtime that is needed in order to help revamp their spirit and give them a little bit more pick me up.

Parents, the night before the official exam please make sure you are filling your student up with some complex carbs. Omega-3s are a very important part of this as well. Students, I know it doesn't always happen during regular course of action school weeks for you, but leading up to your exam it's really important that you're working on getting at least eight hours of sleep before you're waking up for that official test.

The Morning of the Test

All right, so now it's the morning of the exam, what do you do? Please get up in time to eat a healthy breakfast. What does this mean? This means some things like steal-cut oatmeal, some whole-grain cereal, eggs, Canadian bacon, low-fat or Greek yogurt, low-sugar granola, some fresh fruit - these are all great choices that are going to help give your brain and your body the energy that you need in order to have the endurance to get through this grueling piece of work.

Pack your snacks appropriately - there's very little break time included within your official SAT® or within your official ACT®, but it's important that you're maximizing that break time, and you have your snacks already packed. You're using the restroom as you need to so think about those snacks ahead of time. A protein bar or a protein shake, some almonds or other nuts, trail mix, a banana is fantastic, some celery with peanut butter, low sugar dried fruit - these are all things again helping you with that endurance, helping you with that mental focus that you need. Please do not adjust the amount of caffeine you're used to having in the morning. If you're used to having a little bit of caffeine, maintain that. Do not increase, do not decrease, again that consistency coming into play. Whatever your routine is with regards to caffeine, please maintain that, but hopefully it's not energy drinks right that's not a healthy source of caffeine. When you're looking at it, green tea is absolutely fantastic, if you're used to that cup of coffee, good, but again, try and limit the number or the amount of sugar that you have in it.

It's also really important that you dress in layers because you need to be ready for a testing room that might be a little bit cold, or it might be a little bit warm. Either way you need to be ready to put on that sweatshirt, take off that sweatshirt whatever you need to do. That way you make sure that you are comfortable. And then we always recommend having parents drive their students to the official testing location whenever possible. It allows them to free up their minds so that they're not having to worry about the directions that they're going, what the traffic is, parking on time, any of those things. Students, if you are driving yourself, please make sure that you've previewed your route ahead of time. If it's not a site that you're familiar with, make sure you know where to park. Take some time to make sure that you can locate the restroom before you go into your official testing room as well. These are all things that help you feel centered and ready to go in terms of what your focus needs to be.

What to Bring to the Exam

So what are some things that you need to take with you? Make sure you have a printed out copy of your test ticket, you have your photo identification, you need a couple of really good number two pencils. Make sure that they are nice and sharp, and you have a nice eraser that's not going to give a lot of smudge marks. If you are a watch person please wear your watch, but it needs to be one that cannot make any noise. They will take away those digital watches or anything like a smart watch from you. Make sure that you have your approved calculator, and if it runs on batteries, your fresh batteries are ready to go, are already in the calculator for you.

What not the Bring to the Exam

What do you not take? Cell phone. If you're driving yourself, lock your cell phone into your trunk. Don't take it into your testing room with you. Any and all other electronic devices other than your calculators should be left at home or left in the car. Any type of fitness device in addition to those smart watches needs to be left behind. Do not take any of your notes or flash cards into the testing room with you, and again as much as we like things like a highlighter, or a ruler, dictionary, other tools, that all has to be left behind. Please don't have that with you.

Conclusion

Again take advantage of your break time - make sure that you're getting your mindset right the week of, the night before, and the morning of leading into that official exam, and that way you are in control you have a calm environment to put your best energy and focus forward to show these colleges what you are capable of achieving on your SAT® or your ACT®.