SAT/ ACT Self Prep: Master Your Mindset

Can’t meet your tutors for the SAT or the ACT? Are you looking forward to improving your scores but don’t know how to do it? Are you using an online SAT/ACT prep course to help you get to the coveted school? If you answered yes to some of these questions, chances are you are tired of reading for long hours and forgetting the previous lesson by the time you move to the next. Here are a few tips to help you improve without losing track of time or losing sight of the progress you make.

Tip 1: Stick to a study schedule

Do you go to the gym? Yes, then you are well aware of the advantages of a schedule. Just as your fixed schedule helps you get better body shape, a fixed study schedule helps you improve your scores. Doing something regularly helps you get better at it. Also, if you set aside a time to do something, then it becomes a little easier to do that work. The schedule will help you get into a fixed habit of studying, and just as you can do 10 additional push-ups compared to the time you first started, you will get 100 additional points on the SAT or 10 additional points on the ACT in no time.

Tip 2: Study for shorter periods

You didn’t start putting multiple hours on day 1 to the gym. You most probably started with a few minutes of exercise. Follow the same for your study schedule. Keep them short!

Break your study schedule into multiple shorter sessions over a long period of time. Start with one-hour sessions daily for the first two weeks, and gradually increase to 2-hour sessions. The shorter sessions help you retain more information and make studying more effective.

Tip 3: Pat yourself for hitting a milestone

Do you follow a cheat day diet? Why is it important? So, that you can reward yourself for the hard work you did during the week. The same principle works for studying. Start by defining your milestones at the start of the prep and reward yourself with a chocolate or a movie once you hit your milestones. The bigger the milestone, the bigger should be your reward. This process helps you stay motivated and stay on track.

Tip 4: Make your own notes

It is easy to learn by looking at a video or an instructor going through a tough problem. But, the best way to retain the information is when you make your own notes. Write the rules in your own words. By putting the lesson in your own words, you ensure that you keep the points in mind just as you like it.

Tip 5: Be a teacher to your friend

Just as you help your friend at your gym when he joins in, help your friends prepare for the test with your knowledge. This practice helps you revise your concepts and grasp them in a better way. It also helps you to look at the problems in a new and unique way when you try to explain them to friends in multiple ways - making it simple for him and for yourself.

Tip 6: Redo problems

Made errors while doing a test? No problems! It is time to redo these problems with a new perspective. Do not review the first attempt; hide the approach that you used the first time for the problem. Start by doing it afresh. This helps you revisit your memory and makes sure that you have a solid grasp of the topic.

Tip 7: Stay Away from your mobile phone

You will benefit from keeping your study area as free of distractions as possible. Mobiles are among the most helpful devices we have, just not while you are trying to learn something new. Either switch off the mobile or put it on silent. Focus on yourself instead of getting distracted by conversations that you can go back to anyway once you are done studying.

Use these tips to start studying more effectively to make your learning more meaningful and uniquely your own. Soon you will find that you have taken charge of your own progress and have started enjoying the process of learning in a way you have never experienced before. You will grow used to challenging your limits every day and the thrill of learning will translate to superlative performance on tests such as the SAT or the ACT.