Alice Wang

Three simple letters can elicit fear in any high schooler. S, A and T. No, it’s not just the past tense of sitting, it’s a two and a half hour standardized test that high schoolers take to prove their intelligence (or lack thereof) to potential colleges. Unluckily for me, I’ve had to experience this grueling pain five times. But, at least I have wisdom to share with upcoming SAT-takers.
The SAT is divided into four sections, and unlike normal division, the dividends are not equal. The questions can range from effortless math problems to rigorous reading problems in a flip of a page.
After my third SAT run, I felt as if I’d been stuck in a rut. Staying at home all summer doing practice tests, attending weekly tutoring sessions, and reading hundreds of historical texts typically pertaining to slavery or women’s rights gets a little old.
Much like a person at the gym who “ego-lifts,” I realized I did the same with my practice test-taking methodology; lifting beyond my abilities, sometimes even with poor control and technique. I practiced reading passages over and over again while not identifying the patterns of my errors and targeting those specific questions. So, after every long “ego-studying” session, I was gratifying my own consciousness for working hard without actually improving my test-taking strategy. My biggest piece of advice to any SAT newbie is to do practice tests with timed, concentrated sessions that target your commonly missed mistakes rather than scattered, distracted sessions.
Without the SAT, there are not many ways to prove yourself worthy to colleges in a standardized academic manner. Not only to colleges, the pressure applied by classmates and family can also be jarring. Knowing the fact that statements like “I got a 1580” versus “I got a 980” would conjure very different reactions puts a lot of pressure on students to keep running on this hamster wheel that I call “studying for the SAT.”
I remember talking to my friend, a freshman in college, who ranted about a busybody in her dorm that was asking everyone of their SAT scores, and then boasting of their own. But, the SAT doesn’t even matter anymore after getting admitted into college. Bragging about it is just telling others that you peaked in high school.
“Hacking into SAT,” as many SAT connoisseurs say online, just means getting to know the test and identifying frequent patterns with the questions CollegeBoard asks, as there are so many that are able to test one’s past twelve years of schooling. With enough effort and practice, I believe anyone can unleash their test-taking potential if they choose to. My best of luck to the incoming people!