How to prepare for the SATs

Margarita is a Student Ambassador in Greece, leading a series of articles about Aerospace Engineering as part of her leadership project. She just took her SATs and wanted to share how to prepare for them for others doing the same.

As an international student, taking the SAT wasn’t fun, especially when you have in mind that you need to get a really good score.

Every student is different, but I am going to talk about what I did to help myself be confident when taking the SAT.

1) I took one practice test before I started studying, to see where I was. This helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses early on.

2) After that, I carefully analyzed exactly where I was making mistakes. I didn’t just look at what I got wrong, but also why I got it wrong.

3) I searched through the internet for what they call “cheat sheets” that summarized key math formulas and English grammar rules. These quick-reference guides made it easier to review important concepts efficiently.

4) I took one full practice test every Sunday to track my progress over time. This weekly routine helped me stay consistent and motivated.

5) I always made sure to take each practice test under real exam conditions. That meant complete silence, no phone, and no switching tabs or opening Safari.

6) I practiced using questions from the SAT Question Bank and made sure to review my mistakes.

7) A few weeks before the actual exam, I watched a lot of videos of tricks and tips on English grammar and strategies for properly using Desmos. These videos helped me learn shortcuts and smarter ways to approach questions.

These tips I share are the same ones that helped me grow, as a more confident and disciplined student. If there is one thing to take away, it’s that progress is possible for anyone willing to put in the effort!

This article was written with the assistance of GenAI tools.