How can I get the motivation to practice for the Sat

Answered

This is a tough issue to face. Luckily, you've got tons of time!

From the information in the post, I'm going to provide some general studying tips and techniques that have helped me/others. If you'd like more specific help, such as with one academic subject, please comment on this post and I'll respond with what I know!

For general study/motivation:

- study with a friend! this is called body doubling, and can help keep you on track. (choose someone you won't just talk with the whole time, though.)

- switch up your study setting. you might associate studying at your desk with frustration and boredom, so go to a local coffee shop or library! get your favorite drink. the new location won't have the memories that, say, your desk does

- if you can't/don't want to go somewhere: clean your room. or desk. or wherever you study. I swear it helps. the lack of visual clutter will reduce your stress and make it much easier to focus on the questions

- listening to white noise will drown out distracting sounds, and chewing gum will give your body something to do so it doesn't want to get up and do something else

For SAT-specific tips:

- take breaks! don't make yourself do an entire practice test at once. do a section, walk your dog, come back and do another. breaking a giant test into smaller sections will make it less scary and more manageable.

- check your scores on each section. there are practice tests online with answer keys, and they can tell you what you need to work on. For example, in the math sections, you might be really good at Heart of Algebra but miss all the Passport to Advanced Math questions. If you know what specific kinds of questions you miss, you can target that area for faster growth.

- do some practice questions every day! you don't need to do a lot, but even just a few a day (and checking the reasoning behind the answer) will help your brain get used to how SAT questions are set up. this will make you get through the actual test much faster.

- understanding why your answer is wrong/right is much more important than knowing that it is. always check the "explain answer" info, and rework the problem to train your brain for the next similar problem.

- IMPORTANT: don't! be! discouraged!!!! if you go into the study session assuming you aren't going to get better, you won't. standardized testing is hard, and not everyone is automatically good at it. but if you keep practicing, you will see results.

Remember, your test score doesn't take anything away from who you are as a person. It's just a number, and in ten years no one will care what you got. Best of luck!