So I want to take the August SAT and the September ACT, but I have really awful test anxiety.
GPA: 3.85/4.00
-I have taken a lot of Honors/AP classes from 8th-11th grade.
-Most of my in school tests are NOT just multiple choice. They may have an MC section, essay section, free response, graphing, story problems, etc. It is very very rare for me to just multiple choice.
-I have had this issue with tests in school, but it is much easier to manage since I can just go turn it in if I get too anxious.
PSAT 10 Spring 2016- 990 (470 M/520 CR/W)
Practice SAT Fall 2016- 1180 (540 M/640 CR/W)
School day SAT Spring 2017- 1060 (540 M/520 CR/W)
Essay- 6+5+2
I have done practice questions for both the SAT and the ACT, but my anxiety is not getting any better. I am just tensing up even more than I was before which makes it impossible to concentrate. I had at least 4 full blown panic attacks during my real SAT which caused me to not even get to a significant amount of the test.
I can’t get any accommodations because everybody in my family doesn’t believe in anxiety disorders.
I took an SAT math today and scored a 440. I still feel really anxious from just doing that.
I really want to go Michigan State. I could get somebody to vouch for me in a rec letter, but their admissions office told me not to send one and just retake it. Should I call their office and talk to somebody? I just need a game plan because I don’t see this test anxiety thing drastically improving soon.
Anxiety, especially on high stakes tests, is the very best way to earn a poor score. Test anxiety us also not like a cold that you get over by the passage of time. There are lots of resources online about getting over test anxiety. Learning how to approach multiple choice tests such as answering items you find easy first and not going back for review, narrowing down response choices and quickly decide what makes one the the better choice. Learn reliable relaxation techniques and practice them during testing. Manage time by not spending too much time in any one item. And so on
Apply to test optional colleges. There are a ton of good ones. Forget the SAT. It’s clearly not a good test for you. Try the ACT instead.
I am a test prep tutor. The SAT is a harder test than the ACt, IMO. For any test, your most important strategy is to eliminate wrong answers, not find right ones. Why is an answer choice wrong? The one that isn’t is the correct one. Consciously think of this while practicing. And stop timing yourself. Take several tests untimed. Really think about each question and each answer.
It’s not the end of the world if you never get a score you are happy with. I was too lazy to ever take the SAT/ACT. I went to CC and transferred. Nowadays there are more choices for students who don’t test well, or who don’t want to test. Stop fretting. Your will to go to college is more important than a test score.
@annamom Around 200 points higher than my April score, but the sections were split up and taken while I was laying in bed.
@Lindagaf My ACT scores aren’t much better. I think a 1060 is like a 21 and my ACT’s are closer to 23. I haven’t taken a full ACT, but it doesn’t seem much different from my practice. This is why I wanted to just take both of them. If I could get myself to calm down for once, I would love to see what my ACT scores are then. :-/
I have to go to somewhere with a state school sized tuition for financial reasons. Many of the test optional schools I found were private with the tuition to go with it. My search for a test optional school who’s total costs were similar to a state school has been unsuccessful.
Well I gave up on my dream to go to University of Michigan because of the score and that was hard. I just don’t want to lose this too. State is my top choice right now. I honestly would be happy with a 1180.
About test anxiety. To some degree, it is experienced by most test takers/average person comparison. Thus, it doesn’t count as as an anxiety disorder or disability that triggers accommodations. Extended time is not provided to allow a student to accumulate more points. If you have other experiences of anxiety and wonder if you have an anxiety disorder, then you need a thorough evaluation that might result in a diagnosis.
I have really bad anxiety to the point of panic attacks when it comes to driving, socializing, large tests, and with a few other things. I am pretty sure I have an anxiety disorder since so many things set me into panic. I just can’t get help until I am off and away in college. Like I said, my family believes anxiety disorders are made up just so doctors can make money. There’s also some Christian roots in there that contribute to this.
A 23 ACT is like 1200 SAT. As I said, IMO the SAT is harder. I also think the ACT is easier to improve with practice. You have proved that 1180/23 is achievable. So if you practice, even in your worst case scenario, you should be able to replicate your score. Go into your next test aiming to replicate what you know you are capable of. Anything above that is a bonus. Knowing that you are realistically able to achieve 1180 should take some pressure off. If that’s the best you can do, it’s the best you can do. Apply and hope for,the best. Are you going to not apply because of it? No.
Meanwhile, I think some therapy will help you. You are overemphasizing the importance of,these tests. The absolute worst, worst case scenario is that you don’t go to college. You arent going to let that happen, I assume. So you are going to college. Apply to colleges where your grades and test scores should mean you have a decnt chacne of getting in. And remember college is what you make of it.
In terms of self-care, there are meditation and mindfulness apps on the app stores that can be good for learning how to keep your “monkey brain” from stressing you out you during a test. Maybe not ideal, but perhaps better than nothing.
Look into counseling by talking to your guidance counselor about community resources. You have a right to private medical records, but in practice, your parents would see an insurance statement even if you did not give permission to disclose the diagnosis codes. But, talk to your doctor and insurance company and see what they can do for you.
When building your college list, ask lots of questions about mental health. How hard is it to get an appointment? How many appointments are you allowed per year?
^^ The insurance I have discloses everything until I am 18. After that, it gets a little more vague, but still discloses a lot. I don’t have any say in that since I am a minor riding on it. My doctor and insurance company can’t do anything for me without my parents.
I found a clinic who would give me 12 free sessions without parental consent, but I don’t think I will be able to attend for long. They are a 40 minute walk from my place. That’s fine for summer, but it will be impossible to make it there before they close while I am in school.
Thank you for giving me other things to think about.
We supposedly have medical privacy at age 14 in our state. But, the insurance statements still say how much they paid and to what provider, so as a parent I would know if a family member saw a counselor unless very specific arrangement were made to hide it. But if my kid went to her regular doctor and asked about anxiety medication, I would not be able to tell the difference between that and getting a sprained ankle looked at since the medical diagnosis code is private.
Be very clear with your counselor that you won’t be able to walk there every week once school starts. They can help you with a self-care plan as well. Some psychologists are licensed for telemedicine and can see you over skype.
Could you ask your Dr for beta blockers? They are commonly prescribed for musicians/actors with performance anxiety. But they aren’t classified as an anxiety meds.
I already have some due some medical issues I had a few years ago. My only concern about taking them is getting the dosage right. 1 Beta blocker knocked me out for over 12 hours before. If anybody could help me figure that out, I’d be willing to do it.
Deep breathing is super easy, can be done any time, and is VERY effective during a panic attack. I almost had one back in January and thank god I was aware of what was happening. Since then, I use deep breathing all the time. I alos use lavender oil every night at bedtime, and even was given some by the hospital before a procedure. I also do a number of easy things found in the Internet, but nothing beats deep breathing. It works almost instantly.
I just did a quick look at MSU’s profile and you GPA is on their high end (3.4-3.9 is their middle 50%). So you have some latitude for your standardized tests, I think a 24 act or 1200 SAT would put you in very good position. I would echo the others in saying to consider the ACT as you may be closer there than SATs. Also MSU has standardized tests as 5th out of 7 criteria, so your transcript is going to be a lot more important. Good luck!
I think you should study the SAT (or ACT- just concentrate on one test) math really thoroughly to try and raise your score. Look up the explanation for every question you get wrong on practice tests and then do the khan academy as well. Knowing the material really well will help you choose the correct answer even with the anxiety. Once you have your practice SAT (or ACT) score up in math, move on to the reading section. With lots of practice, you can raise those scores in just a few weeks. So, even if you suffer from anxiety, you can get the scores up enough to possibly achieve your goal of Michigan State. Your grades are already great!
DO NOT fiddle around with beta blockers without a physician prescribing the correct dosages. So make an appointment with your doctor.
@theloniusmonk Where did you find that criteria? I want to see what the other things are. The issue is my school does not rank, so that is one thing to strike out. I honestly could not tell you where I stand out of all 450 of us. I also do not have any EC’s due to family obligations, so my SAT/ACT may be a little more important.
Family obligations ARE ECs. You do have ECs, and you must list them on your application if you can. Do you look after elderly relatives, babysit siblings, or manage the cleaning and cooking? Those are ECs.
Have you been searching online yet for ways to help with the anxiety?
“Deep breathing is super easy, can be done any time, and is VERY effective during a panic attack.”
I was thinking the same thing. You might want to learn some sort of meditation technique. I used to show up early for important tests, and sit there and deep breath for perhaps 10 or 15 minutes. Then I would “wake up” and think “okay, time to get on with it” and take the test. For me this worked well. Yoga classes should teach appropriate techniques, as would meditation classes.
“I have to go to somewhere with a state school sized tuition for financial reasons. Many of the test optional schools I found were private with the tuition to go with it. My search for a test optional school who’s total costs were similar to a state school has been unsuccessful.”
My daughter applied to five test-optional schools with very reasonable costs (she had good test results, the schools that she was interested in just happened to be test optional). All were however relatively small schools in eastern Canada (the four top-ranked small primarily undergraduate universities in eastern Canada, plus one which is in the top 6 or 7). For an international student (such as an American) all would cost about the same as our local in-state public universities here in Massachusetts (where we live). One of the five (Acadia University in Nova Scotia) does not consider SAT scores at all and will ignore them if you send them in. The others (Mount Allison, St Francis Xavier, Bishop’s, Mount St Vincent) are test optional. I expect that you can find test optional reasonably prices schools in the US, but if you can’t you can find at least five in eastern Canada. One (Bishop’s) is only about 30 miles from the US border and very convenient to New England. With your GPA assuming good references you should get into any of them.
So make an appointment with your doctor.