As SK, founder of Calculate Confidence, I’ve watched countless test takers stress as the November SAT weekend gets coming up. Through years of coaching, I’ve developed 24 tips—math tips and English tips—that transform this final push into focused action rather than jam-packed panic. Today, I’m excited to help you access the complete blueprint for SAT excellence that’s inside my proven system. This good stuff will definitely boost your performance when you’re ready for last minute preparation. Stick around until the end for a bonus tip.
Mastering Your Mental Game: Pre-Test Preparation
Strategy 1: End Your Practice on a High Note: Why Your Last Prep Session Sets the Tone
Your last shot at a final practice test really sets the tone—like golf at a driving range, one terrible hit at the end overshadows twenty straight drives. Most students hate admitting this, but strong practice means knowing when to stop. Make sure you finish connected to success, not grinding until that ball you hit goes far off course. The same goal score mentality from home run practice applies: walking away on a high note lifts spirits and programs confidence in your prep session, helping you feel good before test day.
Strategy 2: Dress Smart, Test Smart: The Layering Strategy That Eliminates Distractions
Pick out clothes the night before and put them out—being rushed or stressed on test morning over what to dress in wastes energy. I recommend a layering strategy that eliminates distractions from environmental conditions since every room runs hot, cold, or somewhere in between. Smart layers mean more options to take things off, not less. Stay super comfortable and feel focused, not distracted.
Strategy 3: Never Worry About Battery Life: Your Device Charging Checklist
Know where outlets are sitting before the day of test—low battery stress is avoidable. The night before, put your device and charger together, make sure everything’s fully charged, and you’re able to plug in if needed. This charging checklist means you’ll never worry about battery life during the test. Simple preparation eliminates that sinking feeling when your screen dims mid-section.
Strategy 4: The Week-Long Wind-Down: How to Naturally Reset Your Sleep Schedule
Trying to adjust your sleep schedule all of a sudden doesn’t work—self-care means starting a week-long wind-down to naturally reset when you typically go to bed. Begin 1 or 2 weeks earlier, so you don’t stay up past 10:00 p.m. if you get up early for the day of test morning. You might feel tired initially, but this important practice ensures you’re awake and refreshed, not forcing a good night’s sleep the night before that won’t feel great the whole day.
Strategy 5: Wake Up to Win: Light Movement Routines That Boost Brain Power
Wake up at 6 a.m. to get up early for light exercise—something easy like yoga, stretching, or take a walk. Doesn’t mean hard work, guys—something as simple as body moving gets blood circulating. Your brain and body stay connected when loose, helping you feel better going into the test. Movement routines boost brain power, keeping you awake, refreshed, ready to go and win with time.
Peak Performance Protocols
Strategy 6: Parking Lot Power-Up: Why Smart Students Warm Up Before Walking In
Why smart students arrive ahead and sit in the parking lot doing a warm-up set—like running around a field stretching before a big game, your brain needs warmed up muscle memory. I’ve created a brand new set comprised of easy math questions and easy English questions designed just for this purpose. No right answers to look up—you can’t get these wrong. Before walking in for the big test, this power-up gets you ready.
Strategy 7: The 10-Minute Sugar Rush: Fueling Through Module Transitions
Yes, I know sugar typically isn’t great for fueling—I wouldn’t recommend eating a candy bar under normal circumstances because you might feel a little crappy or going to feel tired after. But when you need a quick boost between English modules and math, bring a sugary snack to eat during that 10-minute break. There’s no better way to do that and get you going than a temporary sugar rush. If you want to perform at optimum levels during module transitions, those 10 minutes justify it. After the test is over, you’ll recover.
Strategy 8: Sipping Your Way to Success: The Steady Caffeine Strategy (For Regular Users Only)
Next tip is only for those who are already used to drinking caffeine—if you’ve never had a caffeinated beverage or don’t usually drink coffee, I would not recommend doing this strategy on test day. For regular users out there, your steady consumption matters because experimenting could cause problems; you don’t know how you’ll react, and it might get the jitters. This way isn’t for everyone—sipping needs familiarity. Only proceed if you’re a caffeine drinker.
I’m proof this works: I went to Starbucks before the test, bought a Nitro cold brew that was high in caffeine, took a handful of sips, then started. I kept it under my desk during each module, would take it out for a few more sips—this gave me a low-level boost to keep me focused throughout. Bring one of your preferred caffeinated beverages, sip strategically, and this steady approach becomes your path to success.
Strategy 9: Stand, Stretch, Succeed: Quick Movements That Recharge Your Mind
Sitting through extended periods during each module can make people tired—myself included. When you’re done, definitely get up and stretch between modules to loosen up and recharge your mind. If the proctor gives you a weird look, don’t worry about it—you could always ask ahead: “Do you mind if I stand?” Utilizing that time in between with quick movements leaves you a little bit refreshed, ready to reboot, and just prepared to succeed. Make sure you want to stand up when needed.
Strategy 10: The Fold-and-Conquer Method: Organizing Your Scratch Paper Like a Pro
Before the test, get your scrap paper ready using the fold-and-conquer method for organizing effectively like a pro. Take the scratch paper, fold it in half widthwise, then do it again (and one more time if needed). When you open it up, what’s really nice is now it has all these boxes—they’re evenly and neatly laid out. This actually transforms chaotic work into something organized where you know where to find things pretty easily. Use both sides strategically.
When you need to annotate a reading passage, put the number up in the corner and write notes in that box. So if you solve a math problem algebraically, you can find your work fast. Come back to any question you end up flagging—the boxes make retrieval effortless. Each section stays separate, and you’re never searching through messy pages wondering where your calculations went. This systematic approach keeps you focused on the test itself rather than on paper chaos.
Strategy 11: The 4-4-4 Reset: Your Emergency Calm-Down Protocol
Have a deep breathing technique handy in case you start feeling worked up or anxious during the test—my go-to emergency calm-down protocol is the 4-4-4 reset, which basically means the 444 box method. Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four—do that three times. This breathing technique will bring you back to baseline again, leaving you ready to focus and feel calmer. It’s your reset tool for any moment during testing when you need control again.
Reading & Writing Mastery Methods
Strategy 12: Flip the Script: Why Starting at Question #27 Changes Everything
Why does starting at question number 27 and doing the English module backwards change everything? The designs behind test construction place easier questions first, but what this does is waste your quicker momentum on the hardest stuff—those first five reading passages are most time consuming. Flip the script: start with “logically completes the text” and graph questions around 27, work through those, then hit the first reading passage. You’re gathering points, skipping time-drains, and saving mental energy strategically.
Let’s say you work backwards from 27 down, skipping until you hit your first reading passage at around number 14. Then skip 13, 12, 11, 10, and start again at nine—work all the way down to the end. Once you come back to those last five passages, you’ve banked easy wins. These passages are a lot trickier and need focus, so tackle them when you’re warmed up, not fatigued. This approach maximizes efficiency in doing the module.
Strategy 13: Reverse Engineering Success: Finding Answers by Ruling Out Wrong Choices
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Reverse engineering success through finding answers by ruling out wrong choices means you want to find three wrong answers instead of hunting for one right answer. Don’t do what you usually do on multiple choice questions—just looking for the correct answer versus eliminating trap answer options. Flip the script: because the College Board designs all answer choices to sound really good, you’re more apt to pick correctly when you actively identify something wrong in three answers. This shifts your reading passages approach entirely.
When you can find what’s flawed in those three answers, you’re going to be far more confident than second-guessing which option feels right. The elimination method works because test designs intentionally make all options appear viable at first glance. By hunting for errors instead of chasing perfection, finding answers becomes systematic rather than intuitive. Your brain locks onto concrete evidence of wrongness rather than the ambiguity of rightness—a success strategy that transforms how you approach every question in reading passages.
Strategy 14: When to Ignore the Extras: Reading Questions Before Notes and Graphs
When you get to a note-taking question or graph question, ignore the extras initially—start by reading the actual question first, before diving into notes and graphs. A lot of times, what seems essential is just fluff. Look for the claim or what you need to answer, and try to answer without consulting the notes or graph. Only go to the supplementary notes and graph if you go through the answer choices and find more than one could be right. This saves massive time on reading questions.
Test makers throw a bunch of data at you where they know you’ll panic and then waste time analyzing everything. You don’t need it all—that’s the trap. When you need to go to graph or look for data, do it strategically, not reflexively. The graph contains information where specificity matters, but attempting the question first reveals what actually requires verification. Most graphs and notes serve as distractors rather than necessities, so treat them as secondary resources rather than primary reading material for every single question.
Strategy 15: Cut to the Chase: Why the Last Line Often Holds the Answer
Why does the last line often hold the answer? Cut to the chase: where the claim’s at, argument’s at, and important stuff is at lives in those concluding sentences. For the first set of passages from like number five to number 10, most questions work where you can just look at the last sentence and answer the question—unless it’s a “function of an underlined sentence passage” type. Read that final line first, skip the setup, and you’ll see how it goes when you give it a try on a practice test.
I’m telling you, this was a gamechanger for me—I had so much extra time in module 2 to devote to the harder reading passages at the end. Most of those passages are structured where conclusions contain everything you need, because test designers put payoffs in final sentences. You don’t always need to read every word from start to finish. Try this approach systematically and watch your speed transform. The last sentence isn’t just summary—it’s where precision and answer clarity converge most reliably across questions.
Strategy 16: The 30-Second Rule: Moving Past Words You Don’t Know
The 30-second rule for moving past words you don’t know: only spend 20 to 30 seconds max on words in context questions. Either you’re going to know it or you don’t—please don’t spend two or three minutes mulling over these. When not sure, commit to an answer and move on. Don’t waste time going back and forth between two answer choices.
Because if you spend too long on words in context questions, you will run out of time before you get through challenging modules. This isn’t carelessness—it’s tactical. If you overthink word in context vocabulary, you sacrifice time for complex passages. Please, make your decision quickly. Those extra minutes won’t change scores as much as completing all questions.
Strategy 17: Charts, Timelines, and Arrows: Drawing Your Way to Clarity
When getting lost in a dense information passage, drawing your way to clarity isn’t optional—it’s survival. Use scrap paper to annotate visually; don’t be afraid to draw stuff out. If you notice relationships like one thing goes up, the other thing goes down, that’s correlation—draw arrows to keep track. Do what you need to do with your scrap paper to externalize complexity and talk about concepts spatially.
A couple great annotations include T-charts if you’re comparing two things, or timelines when the passage is giving lots of events and dates. These charts, timelines, and arrows transform abstract text into concrete visual patterns. Use them strategically to annotate what would otherwise overwhelm working memory. Visual drawing creates a way to manage information that reading alone can’t provide.
Strategy 18: Flip It to Find It: Writing Opposite Claims to Spot Right Answers
If they ask you to weaken or undermine a claim, flip it to find it: after you read what the claim is saying, write the opposite claim on scrap paper. If it’s a weakens the claim question, writing opposite claims clarifies exactly what to look for. Then you know the target—you want to find contradictions, not get distracted. This won’t mess you up when answer choices sound similar.
When you want you success on these questions, locate the claim, then write it down—but inverted. This technique for spot right answers transforms confusion into clarity. Instead of passively reading options, you’re actively hunting for the opposite of the original argument. Writing opposite claims on your scrap paper creates a concrete reference point that prevents second-guessing and keeps focus sharp throughout answer elimination.
Mathematics Excellence Strategies
Strategy 19: Paper Power: Why Writing Everything Down Prevents Costly Mistakes
Why does paper power—writing everything down—prevent costly mistakes? When you try not to do all the work up in your head, that’s when you’re going to make careless mistakes. If you’re on a geometry question that talk about a shape but don’t give it to you, go to your scrap paper, draw a picture, and start labeling stuff. Make sure you write out all your work visibly.
Write more on scrap paper when needed—not when using Desmos, but when needed for other types of problems where you need to solve by hand. You’re better off externalizing calculations; you’re going to be far less prone to error if everything is documented. Physical writing transforms abstract mental math into concrete, verifiable steps. This approach prevents errors that mental shortcuts create.
Strategy 20: Save the Shapes for Later: Strategic Question Sequencing in Math Module 2
Save the shapes for later through strategic question sequencing in math module 2—skip geometry problems initially and save them for last. Want to prioritize those dead last? Geometry problems take more time and are a little bit tougher to figure out, otherwise you could get sucked into them like a black hole that’s going to eat away your time. Next thing you know, you’re running out of minutes before you get to all questions.
This strategic approach to question sequencing in module 2 ensures you bank easier points first. Geometry problems demand spatial reasoning that consumes cognitive resources differently than algebra or data analysis. By intentionally skipping these shapes initially, you maintain momentum through faster questions. Then, with time banked and confidence built, tackle geometry when your math stamina is proven and pressure reduced.
Strategy 21: Unlock Desmos Superpowers: Using Sliders and Regression for Constants
Unlock the superpowers of using sliders and regression when you have problems with constants in them—something that your TI 84 really can’t do effectively. Use Desmos strategically: if you can set a slider for each constant, you’re ahead. When there are constants but there’s no x and y, you can run regression through Desmos. It’s amazing for those types of scenarios as much as possibly can exploit them.
Now, as a disclaimer to that: not every problem has constants in them that’s going to work for Desmos. Make sure you can identify the times when it’s appropriate versus when it’s not. If they’re all constants without variables, Desmos becomes the tool your 84 can’t match. Think strategically about when calculator choice matters most. The problem requires discernment about tool selection.
It’s important to educate yourself on how to use Desmos properly—using sliders for constants transforms complex problems into visual solutions. Use Desmos as your primary calculator for these types of problems where regression and dynamic manipulation matter. Understanding when to leverage this technology versus traditional methods separates efficient test-takers from those struggling unnecessarily with manual calculations.
Mathematics Excellence Strategies
Strategy 22: Solve Twice, Score Higher: The Active Error-Catching Approach for Module 1
On module one, the active error-catching approach means if you have a ton of extra time, I want you to go back to number one and redo every single problem—as many problems as you can. Sometimes module one is so easy that our brains go on autopilot, then we make silly mistakes. I don’t want that for you. Solve twice, score higher: it’s that simple. Transform time surplus into verification insurance.
Instead of trying to check your work by just looking at your scrap paper to find errors—that’s hard to do and too passive. Rather you be active in catching careless mistakes. The best way to do that? Solve every problem twice. If your answers don’t match, you know you did something wrong. Then you can really drill down and revisit it with precision. This approach eliminates guesswork about accuracy completely.
Passive review rarely catches what active reworking reveals. In module 1, where questions feel straightforward, careless mistakes emerge from overconfidence. By methodically solving each question twice from scratch, you create a self-verifying system. When results align, confidence is justified. When they diverge, you’ve identified exactly where attention is needed. This transforms module completion from rushed assumption into verified certainty.
After the Test
Strategy 23: Know Your Score Today: Using Digital Calculators to Estimate Results
Know your score today by using digital calculators to estimate your results—if you get out of the test with a good sense of what you think you missed, guys can head to albert.io. Albert.io’s digital SAT score calculator lets you get an estimate of what you would score on the test. I have so many students say to me, “Oh, Laura, I think I missed three math problems” or “four English problems—what would I score?”
Well, you can get a good sense just doing that—just plug in your numbers, and it will spit out a score that will give you a realistic sense of what you probably landed on the test. Rather than anxiously waiting weeks for official results, this immediate feedback tool transforms post-test uncertainty into actionable data. Have your estimates ready and use them strategically for planning next steps or celebrating success.