<p>I recently took the SAT exam in March, as well as many of my fellow students. While many of them decided to study really hard for this exam, I really didn’t do a whole lot of studying, and did not even take a practice test beforehand. I attribute this to three things: 1) a bit of cockiness following a 99th percentile score in the PSAT, 2) the fact I can take the exam again with more preparation if I don’t get the score I want and 3) I feel that if I did prepare a lot and did not get the score I wanted, it would have broken me. </p>
<p>My older brother, who is much more disciplined than I, believes that I should have studied more than for this one. He did put in a lot of work before he took his SAT, and he got a 2250 and kept it (he would later get a 35 on his ACT, which he though was a better structured exam). </p>
<p>Who has a better argument?</p>
<p>Well studying for the first one makes more sense because then if you do well you don’t even have to take it a second time. Practice is what the PSAT is for, I think.</p>
<p>Ideally, you only have to take the SAT once. Taking it twice may let you improve your score slightly, but you should treat every administration of the test as if it will be your final one. You’ll probably make more mistakes if when you take the test you think, “Doesn’t matter if I mess up, because I can just take it again.”</p>
<p>^ Wrong. When you approach the test with a nonchalant attitude, you actually relieve more stress and anxiety, and consequently, are able to perform much better than expected. Therefore, my personal piece of advice to you is to -never- approach the test with an attitude like “I have to do my best, I’m never going to take it again, I can’t mess up, I can’t omit questions!”, because that will make you bomb the exam. Instead, if you know deep down that you can cancel your scores if you feel unsure of your results, and that you can take the exam again, you will perform beyond your expectations. Furthermore, taking the test twice may indeed show improvement if there’s preparation in between. I personally experienced a 200 point increase from my first to second SAT trial, so it is completely plausible that taking the exam more than once is beneficial, however, statistics show that there is little improvement to be seen after the third trial. </p>
<p>As for your main question, prepare extensively and do your best on each and every SAT exam.</p>
<p>^ I think it depends on how well you respond to stress. For example, when I am stressed, my brain thinks everything is interesting, so the test feels easier.</p>
<p>^ That’s probably right. Stress generally helps me focus and perform better. If there’s no pressure, I don’t feel motivated. But I understand that pressure may hurt other people’s performances.</p>
<p>Yeah, stress works differently on people.</p>
<p>I seriously walked into the Jan SAT nonchalantly and fully expecting of a 1900ish tops. Pulled a 2200+. </p>
<p>Freaked out over March SAT; confident I pulled a 2100, if even.</p>