Note: thanks to my new YouTube series, you can get the content of today’s post as a written article, OR as a video at the link below. And don’t forget to subscribe to my channel so you catch all my future videos with valuable test prep tips!
Watch this article as a video:
Rise and shine, superstar! It’s the morning of your big test. But what should you actually do the day of to stay calm and focused?
You’ve done so much hard work to get here: from deciding between the Digital SAT and the ACT, to hammering out your testing timeline, to calculating how long to study for your test of choice, to plugging away at your test prep one hour at a time. And now, after months of putting that nose to the grindstone, you’re about to actually sit for the test!
It’s a thrilling feeling! And also (for some students)….a WAY scary one!
That fearful feeling doesn’t have to last, though. Because you’re about to get a no-nonsense gameplan from someone with a dozen years’ worth of experience calming down freaked-out test-takers like yourself. It’s my whole job to help high schoolers perform on Test Day and reach or even exceed their Target Scores…and ultimately get accepted into their top-pick colleges. What I’m going to show you today is exactly what to do the morning of your ACT or SAT to get rid of the test-day jitters, stay calm and collected, and ultimately get your highest score possible! Ready?
Article Contents
c. What to wear
e. Should you drink caffeine the day of the SAT/ACT?
e. “Warm up” with some practice Qs
f. What to bring with you to the ACT/SAT
g. How early should you get to the testing center?
h. Use “power poses” while you wait
3. Conclusion
What to Do the Morning of your Standardized Test
1) Calculate what time to set your alarm for.
You and I both know that you need to get some serious ZZZ’s the night before you sit for the SAT or ACT. (By “serious ZZZ’s,” I mean eight to nine hours of quality sleep!) However, what I often have to walk my students through the week of their tests is how to work backwards to discover WHEN those eight or nine hours should begin!
For instance, if you know you that your test center’s doors close at 8AM—which really means that you must get there by 7:45AM at the LATEST, so as not to risk being locked out—when would you need to leave your house to be absolutely positive you’ll arrive by that slightly earlier time?
Got a clear “departure from house” time figured? Great. Now, calculate backwards to determine when you’d need to wake up to get through the below morning routine and leave by that departure time! (Then, count 8 or 9 hours backwards to determine when you should actually get to sleep the night before!)
2) Opt for a morning shower.
Sure, some of us naturally gravitate towards nighttime showers. But for this one, very special day—as long as it doesn’t cut into your hearty sleep allotment—I encourage you to shower in the morning! A hot shower will help you wake up physically and mentally, so you can make the state change from slumber…to numbers. You want to use every trick in the book to be awake and alert before your ACT or SAT.
3) Dress comfortably.
Believe me: no one else cares what you show up to your test center wearing. But YOU will care (in a bad way) if you dress in restrictive or uncomfortable clothing or shoes! Save the four-inch heels and short-shorts for the school dance and go for clothing that’ll feel cozy over the course of three to four hours of sitting.
4) Your breakfast should include protein and carbs.
Your brain needs food to fuel all those correct answers, so make sure you eat a balanced breakfast that has carbs AND fats/protein! You’ll need the carbohydrates for energy and the protein and fat to keep you satiated for multiple hours. You’re running a marathon here, in terms of both mental function and physical stamina (sitting in the same seat for that many hours can be surprisingly difficult)! Plus, there’s nothing quite as distracting as a rumbling stomach or hunger headache during the ACT’s English section or the SAT’s Math section. Feeling faint could mean the difference between a “blah” score and an “awesome” one.
Some good options: an omelette with veggies and cheese; eggs and toast with a bit of butter or avocado; granola and whole-milk yogurt with some fresh bananas. You can go back to Poptarts the day after your test!
5) Should you drink caffeine the day of the SAT/ACT?
Here’s my strong opinion on this question: whether you’re an absolute coffee addict or never touch the stuff, don’t change your caffeine routine the morning of your SAT or ACT!
If you enjoy your cup of Joe (or tea) each day, PLEASE don’t try to quit cold turkey today of all days! (Caffeine headaches are the WORST….can you say “distracting”?)
Likewise, if you’re NOT a coffee/caffeinated tea person, don’t start now—unless you’ve taken practice tests using coffee/tea to see what it’s like, and the results were positive! Caffeine can give some people serious jitters, which will make you feel even more nervous than you would otherwise, if your body isn’t used to it at all.
If you’re a “sometimes caffeinated” person and could go either way, make sure you experiment taking mock tests both WITH coffee/tea and without, so you understand how each choice affects your performance.
6) Morning Pages
Julia Cameron’s bookThe Artist’s Way is a bestseller for a reason. One of its most helpful ideas, in my opinion, is the practice she calls “Morning Pages.”
Right after you wake up, you put your pen to a piece of paper and fill THREE pages. (If you’re short on time, just set a timer for 5 minutes and write until the alarm goes off.) Your writing doesn’t have to make sense, be grammatically correct, or discuss anything especially deep. In fact, you don’t even correct mistakes—no crossing out or erasing or deleting allowed! And what’s more? You’re never even going to READ what you wrote, so you can discard it or stuff it in a drawer.
So, if you’re writing garbage and you’re never going to read it or use it again, you might be thinking: “what’s the point?” The answer is simple: the point is to clear your mind of all the gunk and mental chatter, so that those subconscious thoughts aren’t taking up your head space when you’re sitting in your testing seat!
And the morning of the SAT or ACT is exactly the kind of morning when you want to purge anything from your brain that won’t help you stay present and focused!
This can be a handy trick in the (sometimes also stressful) weeks leading up to the test, too.
7) "Warm up" with some softball questions.
After you’ve used Morning Pages to cleanse your mind of useless thoughts that aren’t going to help you ace your test, now you get to warm up your mind and get into the test-taking zone!
Think about it: you wouldn’t give a piano recital without loosening up your fingers with some scales, would you? And you wouldn’t run your championship track meet without stretching and jogging a few laps, would you? Likewise, you should not take a high-stakes test without doing the same for your brain.
The quickest and easiest way to do this is to take a page of easy-ish Math or Grammar questions and work your way through them. You can recycle the first 4-6 questions of English, “Standard English Conventions,” or Math from an old practice test OR from old SAT/ACT homework assignments or practice drills. Don’t tackle super-hard questions—you might just end up discouraging yourself, and we want you to get to that testing center feeling confident. Give yourself some quick wins so you can start to get your head in the game.
If time is short, you could even do your 4-6 questions of “warm up” while you’re eating your balanced breakfast or commuting to your test center!
8) Bring these test-day necessities with you.
As you know, there are some essentials that you must bring with you on Test Day. (And I list them all out for you in this post!)
So, your next morning-of step is to actually BRING THEM with you, so you have everything you’ll need to check in, take the test, and stay physically comfortable along the way!
Expert mode: pack these items all up the night before the test so you’re not scrambling to assemble everything in the hectic hour before you leave the house.
9) Get to the testing center on time (read: early).
Double- and triple-check your SAT or ACT registration ticket to make sure you know exactly when the doors close, and plan to arrive at least 15-30 minutes earlier! Nothing will throw you off your mental game like having to speed through traffic because you’re running late.
10) Use power poses while you wait.
While you’re waiting in line to get in the test center’s doors or waiting in line to check in, strike a “high power” pose, like a Super Woman pose—for at least two minutes straight!
(Is this the first time you’re encountering the phrase “Power Poses”? Read this post to learn all about how to use them to decrease stress, increase confidence, and sharpen your mind during the SAT and ACT!)
Didn’t have to wait in any lines? While you’re at your desk to take the test, you can still SIT in a “high power” pose while you fill in your information before the test begins!
Parting thoughts
If you follow the above advice—as have hundreds of my past students who’ve gone on to achieve success on their SATs and ACTs—a few things will happen for you. You’ll have the physical, emotional and mental stamina to ace the SAT and ACT; you’ll encounter fewer logistical hiccups on test day; you’ll know you did everything within your power to get in the best possible headspace for your test…and you’ll more than likely get an outstanding score! Niiiiice.
And if you want to be like those hundreds of successful students—i.e., if you want to have an expert in YOUR pocket to help YOU get your target SAT or ACT score—find out how to work with me here.
OR, if private tutoring doesn’t fit your budget or study style, never fear! My online course is perfect for you:
This is a completely online, completely self-directed video class that will help you overcome your test anxiety, whatever form it takes. I walk you through over a DOZEN tricks and strategies for keeping calm and testing on. So if you liked the tips and tricks that today’s post had to offer, just imagine the kind of score you can achieve with loads MORE of them!
