Q: 

Hi Natalie! First, I just want to say I absolutely love your YouTube!(: And this advice blog/column is a terrific idea! I'm a junior in high school and I should probably already know about all of this stuff...but unfortunately I don't. My teachers/counselors haven't explained it very well. They basically gave us a sheet of paper saying do this and do that by this month. I need help with the whole SAT process, like registering. Do you have any tips on how to study for it? I'm mainly nervous about the math and essay portions. I just don't know what to do at all and I'm beyond stressed. /:

-Cindy

A: Hey Cindy! Aw thank you! I just went through this - and if it makes you feel any better, I only started the process the beginning of my senior year! It's not as stressful as they try to make it seem, I promise. I had a tutor for this 2x a week (both english and math) and basically they gave me tips to use on the SAT. 

• ALWAYS always skip questions you can't narrow down to less than two options - you're marked down a whole 1/4 of a point for wrong answers, and not marked down any points for skipped answers! 

• A great strategy for math on the SAT is plugging in numbers and answers (which means that you don't actually have to DO math when there's a missing variable, just plug in a multiple choice answer they've given you and plug it into your equation. For on questions with variables in the answers, you can come up wit your own numbers instead of dealing with all of the variables. - HUGE time savers!)

• For the Essay, your BIGGEST tool is an "idea bank." Write down categories for possible questions (Social Sciences, Arts and Lit, Popular Culture, The Sciences, Personal) and list under each topic, writing points and events that you could write an essay itself on. Wether it's current events, historical events or ones in your own life... make a list of them! 

• When you write your essay, the people actually grading them are looking for an essay structured as such; An intro including a thesis, Example 1, Reasoning (which includes why it was relevant and if it didnt happen, what would be different), Example 2, Reasoning, and then your Conclusion. 

•If you're worried about time on the essay  I suggest taking 4 minutes to outline, 20 minutes to write and 1 minute at the end to scan.

•I highly suggest buying the SAT book so you can take the practice tests, get familiar with the material, etc. 

• Practice questions are on collegeboard.com! That's where you sign up as well - I highly recommend taking those practice tests. 

I know it seems like loads of stress right now with pressure on grades, applying to colleges, SATs.. ETC. One year from now you're going to be taking deep, relaxed breaths and you'll be so proud of yourelf for getting through it all. It's SO worth all of the hard work. You'll get through it girl! And best of luck. Hope I was a bit of help to you - feel free to message me again if you have any further questions. 

-Natalie