The SAT is one of the great universal struggles that most Americans have to go through, and while it may result in a perfect score and elation, it often results in a lot of stress along the way. Maybe you had a tutor and had your studying planned out for you. Or maybe you were like me and had to struggle through everything on your own. There's no one better to speak about preparation than the little yellow man with the catchphrase "I'm ready!"
Step 1: Registration
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Registration doesn't seem like a stress-inducing event, yet it never ceases to be. The college board sets it up so you have to tell them your entire life story before registering for the test you want to take. You must select every class you took in high school, provide information about yourself and your future plans and even information about your family. This has to be done every time you register too, not just the first time. To top it all off, at the end, there is a really serious warning that says something to the effect of "if you did not fill out everything correctly on the last 75 pages of forms, you will not take the test and we will keep your money."
Step 2: Buying the book
Now that you have registered, you're set to go. This time, you're going to ace it, you're sure. In order to do that, you must first purchase a study book. You spend hours in the local bookstore looking at the stacks and stacks of test prep books. Each one is at least three inches thick and there are so many different companies.
Step 3: Making a (way too ambitious) schedule
Once you have your book you will flip through and begin writing the ultimate SAT study calendar. Each day you are totally going to do two practice sections and every Saturday you will totally do a full practice test, right? Wrong. You're not doing everything you planned on. In fact, you are lucky if you do a quarter of it. While this approach often leads to freaking out a week before the test, you do it anyway.
Step 4: Stu(dying) the weekend before
One Saturday before the test you come to the realization that you have six days to prepare and have only done a fraction of what you told yourself you would do. If you're anything like me you will make up for the lost time and attempt to do everything you put off in a span of 48 hours.
Step 5: The night before the test
It is well-known that you are not supposed to study the night before the test. You're trying to be super zen and curling up with a cup of tea and a movie. Then right before bed, you try to print out your admission ticket and ... there is no ink in the printer. Then you go grab your calculator and there are no extra batteries. So your night-before-chill plan is now a running to CVS to get everything you forgot.
Step 6: Trying to relax the night before
You're trying to sleep the night before so you are super well-rested during the test. Yet you have never been able to sleep less. You stare at the ceiling or the wall just waiting to fall asleep and then stress that you will be tired during the test.
Step 7: You're ready
The time has come. it is 7:58 and you are sitting in your seat at the test. You have your No. 2 pencils, your calculator (thanks to your mom who found it), your ticket, and your ID (thanks to your dad who dropped it off when you forgot it). You turned off your phone and you set your watch to match the classroom clock. You're prepared, you're feeling great, and it's time to take the test.
Step 8: Five minutes left
You made it this far, and there is no looking back. The proctor stands in the front of the room and makes the announcement that there are five minutes left. You are rushing to finish, checking your work and making sure you did not leave anything blank that you knew the answer to.
Step 9: You're finished
At this point, you know you either rocked it or not. But either way, you don't care. You're just happy to be finished. Now you can go home and do what you normally do, AKA watch TV and ignore your responsibilities (responsibilities like, the next SAT).
