How Much Time Should I Spend Preparing for the SAT?
Deciding how much time to spend preparing for the SAT is important to setting up a realistic timeline and a plan to be ready on test day. Schedule your test early and then plan backwards from test day to be sure that you will not feel rushed in preparation.
For most high school students, three months is the perfect amount of time to spend preparing for the SAT. This will give you plenty of time to review material, zero in on trouble areas, and take plenty of practice tests to check on your progress along the way. Three months will also give you time to feel comfortable with the format of the test and prepared for what you will face on SAT test day.
Students who like to feel that they have extra time and have the time to devote to test prep can always start earlier. This may help some students feel less anxious about the SAT and know that they have done all that they can to prepare. If you start earlier, you have more room to spread out your test preparation and go at a pace that works for you.
If you have taken the test before and feel that you just need to brush up on the material before trying again, one month of preparation may be okay. It all depends on what will help you to feel confident when you sit down to take the test. If you only have one month to prepare, it is important to focus in almost immediately on the areas that give you the most trouble so that you have time to work through challenging material before taking the SAT.
