How to Beat SAT and ACT Test Anxiety
Over the course of my 13 years as a test prep expert, I’ve worked with many different types of high schoolers to boost their SAT and ACT scores and get them into top-tier colleges. This variety is part of what makes my job fun—I genuinely enjoy figuring out a given student’s individual strengths and needs and meeting them exactly where they’re at. But there’s one common theme I see again and again in new clients, regardless of their demographic or life experience: test anxiety.
If you’re a Junior in the class of 2024, chances are you’re probably in the middle of taking your first SAT or ACT. (That is, unless you’re one of the very few members of the class of 2024 who can get away with not taking the ACT or SAT—i.e., your entire college list is composed of “Test Free” (aka “Test Blind”) schools, OR all the colleges on your list are Test Optional and you have the GPA and academic strength to skip standardized testing entirely and still get in.) In fact, many of you might be preparing to take your very first real SAT this coming weekend!
So given that many of you either still need to test this spring OR still want to send in a high score on the SAT or ACT to give yourself the best possible odds of getting into your dream school, I wanted to go back to what I started to share with you a couple months back: not letting test anxiety get the best of you.
After all, our world is chaotic enough right now. Even the process of “deciding” if you should even rally the energy to study for the SAT or ACT in the first place and staying on top of all the fluctuations and updates in the college admissions game is exhausting enough, right? Once you DO decide that you should take the test, we don’t want test anxiety to hamstring your best efforts!
I already addressed what test anxiety IS and which students are most likely to get it and I’ve already shared a few of my favorite tips for beating test anxiety. If you haven’t read them yet, I highly suggest that you do! Don’t worry, I’ll wait :)
Back now? Great! Because guess what? I have MORE secret tactics for slaying test anxiety! So when I’m not updating you on how to navigate the current state of college admissions, I’m going to come back to this series about Test Anxiety, since, frankly, much of my advice can be applied to LIFE as well as to standardized testing.
What causes test stress, and who tends to get the most stressed out?
As you may recall from my first post about conquering test anxiety, once we drill down, there are really only two main causes of test anxiety:
Lack of Preparation, and
Mental Chatter
And if you also recall, there tend to be two types of students who suffer the MOST from test anxiety:
The “Slacker”—suffers primarily from the “Lack of Preparation” above, and
The “Perfectionist”—who suffers primarily from the “Mental Chatter.
So, today’s Test Anxiety Strategy is meant to get “1) Lack of Preparation” into check—but I use it with BOTH “Slackers” AND “Perfectionists” in my Ace the Test: Game Plans and when we first start working together on raising SAT and ACT scores. I sometimes refer back to this technique if I need to get a “Slacker” to pick up the pace, or to help one of my “Perfectionists” stop mentally spinning and get in the present moment.
Ivy Lounge Test Anxiety Strategy #3: Make a Big-Picture Framework for Getting Into College
The idea behind this is actually simple; it just take a few minutes of dedication to actually DO IT.
Basically, you’re going to look at the Big Picture for what you’re trying to accomplish, break that down into parts, and then drill down into any details that contribute to the ultimate goal. Once you do, you’ll realize that your dreams aren’t just airy-fairy notions—they could really happen! And you’ll have the smaller, actionable steps in place to MAKE them happen.
How to Get Over Test Anxiety By Making a Big-Picture Framework
Identify which schools you want to apply to in the first place—like, your DREAM colleges.
Research them! What are their standardized testing requirements? Do they require the SAT or ACT? Will they consider them if you submit them? (Find this on the colleges’ websites.)
What are the median SAT and ACT score ranges for students who got in? (Find this on CollegeData.com.)
What are YOUR diagnostic test scores on the SAT and ACT? How far away are you from your dream school’s score range, which you determined in #3?
What specific pieces of content in grammar and/or math and what specific strategies for ALL sections can you learn that would bridge this gap between #4 and #3? (This may take a pro, like me!)
Why this strategy helps “Slackers” beat test anxiety
For “Slackers” who often don’t have the motivation to even begin their SAT or ACT test prep, I’ve found in my experience that this strategy has whipped them into high gear like no other—and gotten astounding results!
Remember, oftentimes, this type of student with test anxiety simply doesn’t see the significance of why he needs to do trigonometry homework. So he doesn’t DO the homework. And then (surprise, surprise), he doesn’t see improvement.
However, if you can start with the dream (in this case, his or her dream college), get them to really see themselves there as a concrete possibility, and then connect the dots so they see how their dream of going to that college directly relates to a FINITE list of topics to learn on the SAT or ACT…get ready! You may see your “Slacker” high schooler lock themselves in their room to study for the first time EVER!
The “Slacker” doesn’t want to expend time or energy if they don’t see the point. So start with “the point.” Bonus points if you can help THEM connect the dots from their dream school to the precise test content and strategy topics themselves!
Why this strategy helps “Perfectionists” beat test anxiety
For the “Perfectionist” who ONLY sees the significance and scares herself with catastrophic thinking, creating a big-picture framework for college standardized testing can be a lifesaver for two reasons:
She will see that she doesn’t NEED to be perfect—she only needs to improve X points to get a score of Y. That literally means she either doesn’t need to know EVERYTHING tested, or she should learn everything with the understanding that she will make mistakes…and that’s ok. And
She will see the FINITE number of topics and strategies she needs to learn to actually accomplish her goal! She doesn’t need to mentally spin about advanced trigonomic identities when those aren’t tested—and even if they were, those aren’t the “low-hanging fruit” that it’s her job to pick.
In fact, when I start working with my private SAT and ACT tutoring students, one of the first things I do is—you guessed it!—create a framework for each section of the SAT or ACT. What do those test section frameworks look like, you say? I’m glad you asked! In my next post, I’ll lay out a few sample test section frameworks in detail and explain how these frameworks help a given student cut down on her study time AND her stress while boosting her score.
Other frameworks I use to help my students increase their test prep motivation AND decrease their stress:
Framework for the SAT or ACT as a whole.
Framework for each section within the SAT or ACT, including a list of everything that could be tested within it. (Hint: it’s a FINITE list! If you learn all the topics, there’s nothing else to learn—now it’s just applying that knowledge!)
Framework for Junior Year (planning out when you’re taking the SAT or ACT, when you have finals or AP exams, when you have tournaments or play practice or Spring Break, etc.).
Framework for the entire college process (grades, standardized testing, college essays, campus or virtual visits, etc.).
Basically, once you can get YOUR “Slacker” or “Perfectionist” to understand the Big Picture of their dreams, and then break that big dream into chunks, it not only lights a fire under your “Slacker’s” behind, but it eases a LOT of your “Perfectionist’s” overwhelm and anxiety!
And if you get stuck creating a framework for any of these—or you need a third-party, expert perspective to weigh in—that’s precisely where I can help! Book an Ace the Test: Game Plan® so I can do this hard work FOR you.
OR, if private tutoring doesn’t fit your budget or study style, never fear! My online course is perfect for you:
This is a totally digital, totally self-directed video class that will help you slay the dragon of your test anxiety. I walk you through over a DOZEN tricks and strategies for keeping calm and testing on. So if you liked the hack that today’s post had to offer, just imagine the kind of score you can achieve with loads MORE of them!
