SAT test strategy

Time management

• Know your per-question budget. Roughly 71 seconds per R&W question and 95 per Math question — but treat it as an average, not a rule. Bank time on easy questions.
• Two-pass each module. First pass: answer everything you can do confidently, flag the rest. Second pass: return to flags with your banked time.
• Set checkpoints. Know where you should be at the halfway mark of each module; glance at the timer only at checkpoints, not constantly.
• Never leave a blank. There's no penalty for wrong answers. With a minute left, answer every remaining question — an eliminated-down guess is worth real points over time.

Guessing and elimination

• Eliminate before you guess: crossing out even one choice meaningfully improves your odds. Use the strike-through tool in Bluebook.
• Don't change answers on vibes. Change only when you can name the specific error in your first reasoning.
• On R&W, wrong choices usually have an identifiable flaw (too extreme, unsupported, off-topic). Find the flaw rather than searching for the "best-sounding" answer.

Handling the adaptive modules

• Module 1 accuracy decides whether you see the harder Module 2 — and the higher score range that comes with it. Bring full focus to the first module; it's not a warm-up.
• Don't diagnose mid-test. Students waste focus wondering "did I get the hard module?" You can't tell reliably, and it changes nothing about how you should answer. Treat every question as worth one point, because it is.
• A harder-feeling Module 2 is generally good news. Feeling challenged is a signal you earned the upper track — not that you're failing.

Avoiding careless mistakes

• Re-read the final sentence of the question before answering — most careless Math misses are "solved for the wrong thing."
• On grid-ins, check units, sign, and whether a fraction/decimal form is required.
• Build a personal pre-answer checklist from your error log — your careless mistakes are predictable and personal.

The error log

The single highest-leverage study habit. Keep a simple table — paper or spreadsheet — with one row per missed question:

Mistake types: content gap · misread question · misread choice · careless calculation · time pressure · Desmos-entry error · grammar-rule gap · vocabulary gap · strategy error · blind guess. Reread the whole log before every practice test — it's the most personalized study guide that will ever exist for you.

Balancing tests and drilling

Practice tests measure; drilling improves. A good default mix during active prep is roughly one test day for every five or six drill days. If your score has plateaued across two consecutive tests, the fix is almost never "more tests" — it's deeper review and more targeted drilling. See how often to test.

The final week

• 6–4 days out: Dress-rehearsal Bluebook test at the same time of day as your real test. Review it. Light drilling on your two stickiest skills.
• 3–2 days out: Reread your error log. Confirm your device is ready and Bluebook is installed and updated. No new topics — new material this late adds anxiety, not points.
• Night before: Pack (device, charger, admission ticket, ID, snacks, water). Something relaxing. Normal bedtime — an all-nighter costs far more than it gains.
• Test morning: Real breakfast, arrive early, one or two easy warm-up questions if that settles you. You've done the work; now just execute.

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