Irvine SAT Tutor Why Students should Take the SAT Early

Irvine SAT Tutor Why Students should Take the SAT Early 4 reasons students should take the SAT early Many students choose to take the SAT during their fall term of junior year and are well on their way to preparing for the big day. There are countless strategies for improving SAT scores, but one of the best things students can do to improve their chances of getting into college is to take the SAT early, so they have time to make adjustments to their study habits and retake the test if necessary. When students have time to prepare and work on academic challenges their entire school life will be less stressful and more productive our private Irvine SAT tutors are here to help you with your test prep. 1. Gain points Many students take the SAT practice exam at home and participate in a prep class or private tutoring but find out that their score on the actual test date is not as high as they wanted it to be. This often occurs because students are nervous about taking the exam and have to concentrate for several hours early in the morning. This can result in a score that is slightly lower than they were hoping for but, if students take the test early, they have time to continue their study, work on additional tips and tricks, and take the test again in the spring. 2. Reduce stress If students take the SAT at the last minute, they will be feeling extra nervous about their chances of getting into college. This can be incredibly stressful and take away from a student’s overall academic success and make this chapter of their life less balanced and more difficult. One of the best ways to combat stress at this age is to develop great organizational skills including prepping for essential exams in advance. One of the best things students can do to reduce stress during the college prep years is to take the SAT early on to find out what their situation will be with time to spare (READ: 4 Great Ways to Study for the SAT this Fall). 3. College choice Taking the SAT early will also help students determine which colleges and universities they should apply to. Many students dont know where to start when it comes to college choice so their SAT scores can help steer them in the right direction. Students can talk with their college counselor about which set of colleges they should be applying to based on their current SAT scores. Its a good idea for students to have a couple of reach or dream schools, ones that are difficult for anyone to get into but are worth a shot. Students should also have a comprehensive list of target and safety schools, ones they are more likely to get into or nearly guaranteed to get into under normal circumstances. 4. Useful information for future SAT prep When students take the SAT exam early on in their college prep years, they get to know which problems they consistently struggle with, how fast theyre able to answer questions correctly, and which questions they get right nearly every time. This is very useful information for students to give to their SAT prep tutor to help target their tutoring sessions towards skills they need to improve, making each session more useful. Students will also get to know which problems they excel on, so they dont waste valuable prep time on something they already know. Students can start out by taking a full-length practice test at home, but ultimately the only scores that count are the ones from the real SAT exam. Students who take the test early will know what to expect should they need to take it a second time. Its never too early to start test prep! Our Irvine SAT and ACT tutors are here to help you succeed. Call us today for more information. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.