10 Last-Minute SAT Tips to Pick Up More Points Before Test Day

By Laura Whitmore

If your SAT is only a few days away, I have good news and bad news.

📣 The bad news: this is not the moment to suddenly decide you are going to master every obscure geometry formula, memorize 400 vocabulary words, and finally “figure out” trigonometry at 11:47 PM the night before the test.

💜 The good news: you do not need to.

There are still things you can do right now that may help you pick up points—and none of them requires learning an entirely new unit of SAT content. Think of this as your final SAT tune-up.

Not up for reading? Watch my YouTube video instead!

🔎 TIP 1: Look for Three Wrong Answers Instead of One Right Answer

On SAT Reading questions, students often approach the answer choices asking: “Which one sounds right?”

That can get you into trouble.

Wrong SAT answers are designed to sound plausible. They may reuse words from the passage, make a statement that is generally true, or take one small piece of the text and stretch it too far.

Instead, flip your strategy: try to prove three answers wrong. ✔

Go through each choice and look for one word, phrase, or claim that is not supported by the text.

If an answer says the author was “frustrated,” for example, ask yourself: where is my textual evidence that the author was frustrated?

If you cannot point to evidence in the passage, be suspicious.

The correct answer does not need to be the one you personally like best. It needs to be the one you cannot eliminate with evidence.

YOUR LAST-MINUTE RULE

Do not ask: “Why could this answer be right?”

Ask: “Can I prove this answer wrong?”

That shift can make trap answers much easier to spot.

👤 TIP 2: Use the Pronoun Trick on Verb Questions

If you reach a grammar question and all four answer choices are different forms of a verb, you may be dealing with subject-verb agreement.

Instead of staring at the choices until they all begin to look equally terrible, use a quick pronoun test.

Try replacing the subject with he or they. ✔

Why?

Because it becomes much easier to hear the difference between singular and plural verbs.

For example: He runs. They run.

If three answer choices behave like plural verbs and one behaves like a singular verb—or vice versa—that difference may tell you exactly what the question is testing.

WHAT TO DO ON TEST DAY

1. Find the true subject.

2. Decide whether it is singular or plural.

3. Mentally replace it with he or they.

4. Choose the verb form that sounds grammatically correct.

This is especially helpful when the actual subject is buried inside a long SAT sentence with several distracting phrases between the subject and verb.

👯 TIP 3: Periods and Semicolons Are Usually Twins

This is one of my favorite SAT punctuation shortcuts. A period and a semicolon can both separate two complete sentences.

For example: I studied for the SAT. I went to bed.

and: I studied for the SAT; I went to bed.

Both are grammatically correct.

So if two answer choices are otherwise identical and the only difference is:

Choice A: period

Choice B: semicolon

they generally cannot both be the unique correct answer.

That means you may be able to eliminate both immediately. But there is one important exception: semicolons can also be used to separate complicated items in a list—especially when those items already contain commas. ✔

So before automatically crossing out a semicolon choice, glance at the surrounding sentence. If the passage is already using semicolons to separate items in a series, the semicolon may be functioning differently.

THE SHORTCUT

Period vs. semicolon doing the exact same job? Cross them both off.

Semicolon inside a complicated list? Investigate before eliminating it.

That little distinction can save valuable time on punctuation questions.

📝 Tip 4: Do Not Read Every Rhetorical Synthesis Note Unless You Need To

Rhetorical synthesis questions—the ones with a set of student notes—can look intimidating because College Board gives you a giant block of bullet points.

Your instinct may be: “I guess I have to read all of this.”

You often do not.

Start with the actual task.

What does the student want the sentence to accomplish? ✔

Maybe the student wants to:

• emphasize a difference,

• introduce a researcher,

• make a generalization,

• highlight a particular finding,

• or compare two ideas.

Then go directly to the answer choices.

If only one answer actually accomplishes the stated goal, you may be done without reading every note.

WHEN SHOULD YOU READ THE NOTES?

If two or three answer choices all appear to satisfy the student's goal, then go back to the bullet points and determine which answer is factually supported.

That is the key distinction.

Do not read information simply because College Board placed it on the screen.

Read it when you need it.

You may only encounter this situation on a small number of questions, but being ready for it can save time in the final stretch of an English module.

🖥️ Tip 5: Desmos Can Solve for Constants Too

A lot of students think Desmos is mainly useful when a problem gives them (x) and (y).

Not necessarily.

If an equation contains only unknown constants—such as (p), (q), (r), and (s)—you may still be able to use a regression to make Desmos solve for those constants. ✔

In the video example, instead of manually rearranging a complicated equation, the equal sign is changed to a regression symbol: ~

Desmos can then return numerical values for the unknown constants.

From there, if the question asks which answer choice expresses one constant in terms of the others, plug the answer-choice expressions into Desmos and see which one produces the required value.

ONE DESMOS DETAIL THAT SCARES STUDENTS UNNECESSARILY

Sometimes Desmos displays something like: 0.4999999

instead of: 0.5

That does not mean your answer is suddenly wrong and mathematics has collapsed.

That is simply a decimal approximation.

Treat it as: 0.5

THE BIGGER TAKEAWAY

Desmos is not only a graphing calculator.

It can also help with:

• regressions,

• systems,

• constants,

• functions,

• intersections,

• and checking answer choices.

Before doing a page of algebra, ask yourself: “Can Desmos do this faster?”

⏱️ Tip 6: If a Math Question Is Going Nowhere, Leave It

This may be the hardest strategy for perfectionists.

If you have spent around a minute on a Math question and you are still not making meaningful progress, flag it and move on.

I call this: surrender to win. ✔

You are not permanently abandoning the question. You are refusing to let one difficult problem steal time from three questions you could answer correctly.

Imagine spending four minutes fighting one problem, finally getting it wrong, and then rushing through three easier questions at the end.

That is a terrible trade.

BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL WITH TIME-HUNGRY GEOMETRY

Geometry problems can require several steps: drawing the figure, identifying the correct formula, finding an intermediate measurement, and then answering the actual question.

If you reach a complicated geometry problem in Module 2 and know it is likely to consume your time, consider flagging it and grabbing faster points first.

REMEMBER

The SAT does not give bonus points for answering the questions in order. A point from Question 22 counts just as much as a point from Question 14.

Your job is to collect as many points as possible—not win a personal argument with one particularly rude triangle.

📊 Tip 7: On Graph Questions, Read the Claim Before the Graph

Here is another place students accidentally waste time. They see a giant graph and immediately start studying:

• the axes,

• every data point,

• the legend,

• the trends,

• the units,

• and possibly the entire history of data visualization.

Stop.

Start with the question. ✔

Then look at the paragraph associated with the graph and find the claim you are being asked to evaluate.

Often, that claim appears in the final one or two sentences.

Read those first.

Then check the answer choices.

In some questions, the wording of the claim gives you enough information to identify or narrow down the answer before you ever need to inspect the graph closely.

USE THE GRAPH ONLY WHEN NECESSARY

If two choices remain and you need the data to distinguish between them, now go to the graph.

This order is much more efficient:

Question → claim → answer choices → graph if needed

instead of:

Stare at graph for 90 seconds → forget what the question asked → mild panic.

The graph is a tool. Do not let it become a sightseeing destination.

🔄 Tip 8: Reset Before the Harder Module 2

This tip has nothing to do with formulas or grammar rules. It is about performance.

Module 1 can make students comfortable. The questions may feel manageable, the pace may feel fine, and then students carry that exact same energy into a harder Module 2.

That is where trouble starts.

If you receive a more difficult second module, you need to mentally reset. ✔

Tell yourself:

New module. New pace.

You may need to:

• move more intentionally,

• make quicker decisions,

• skip sooner,

• avoid rereading excessively,

• and protect your remaining time.

Do not interpret a difficult Module 2 as evidence that you suddenly forgot how to take the SAT. It is supposed to feel harder.

YOUR 10-SECOND RESET

Before beginning Module 2:

Sit up. Reset your focus. Look at the time. Remind yourself to keep moving.

You do not need a motivational speech worthy of a sports documentary. You just need to avoid sleepwalking into the hardest part of the test at your Module 1 pace.

🗂️ Tip 9: Sort Your Mistakes Into Two Piles

At this point in your preparation, taking another random practice test may not be the best use of your final hours. Instead, go back through the work you have already completed.

For every missed question, put it into one of two categories:

Pile 1: I did not know the concept

Maybe you forgot:

• a grammar rule,

• an exponent rule,

• a geometry formula,

• a statistics concept,

• or how a particular SAT question type works.

Review that concept and redo the problem.

Pile 2: I knew it, but I made a careless mistake

Maybe you:

• missed the word not,

• solved for (x) when the question wanted (2x),

• copied a number incorrectly,

• picked an answer without checking the passage,

• or rushed the final step.

These mistakes require a different fix.

You do not need to relearn the concept. You need to identify the behavior that caused the mistake. ✔

WHY THIS MATTERS

If you never analyze your misses, you are very likely to repeat them.

Do not simply say:

“Ugh, careless mistake.”

Ask:

What exactly made me careless?

That is how you stop history from repeating itself on test day.

🧠 Tip 10: Warm Up Your Brain Before the Test

Athletes do not walk onto a field completely cold and immediately play at full speed. Your brain deserves the same courtesy. ✔

Before the SAT, do a few easy English and Math questions. The keyword is easy. This is not the moment to attempt the hardest problem you have ever seen and destroy your confidence in the parking lot.

The goal is simply to get your brain:

• reading carefully,

• recognizing patterns,

• doing basic calculations,

• and switching into SAT mode.

Think layups—not Game 7 from half court.

✅ The 10-Tip Test-Day Checklist

Before the SAT, make sure these strategies are fresh in your mind:

• Find three wrong Reading answers instead of hunting for one right one.

• Use he/they to help test subject-verb agreement.

• Remember that periods and semicolons usually perform the same sentence-boundary job.

• Read rhetorical synthesis notes only when the answer choices force you to.

• Use Desmos regressions when a Math problem contains unknown constants.

• If a Math problem is eating your time and you are getting nowhere, flag it.

• On graph questions, read the claim before analyzing the graph.

• Reset your mindset and pace before a harder Module 2.

• Review your old mistakes and determine whether each was conceptual or careless.

• Warm up with a few easy questions before the test.

None of those requires learning an entirely new SAT topic. That is the point.

💤 One More Strategy: Please Sleep

This technically comes after the 10 tips, but it may be the most important last-minute advice in the entire video.

Do not cram late into the night. ✔

You cannot learn hundreds of new concepts in a few hours, and exhausting yourself in the attempt may make it harder to use the knowledge you already have the next morning. Sleep is not wasted study time.

Sleep is a test-taking strategy.

Close the laptop. Put away the formula sheet. The SAT will still contain semicolons tomorrow.

And if you have somehow read this entire article while wearing sunscreen and studying punctuation, congratulations—you have officially earned the phrase:

sunscreen and semicolons.

💡 Final Thoughts

Your score in the final days before the SAT is unlikely to change because you suddenly learn everything you have not mastered over the past several months.

But it absolutely can be affected by how well you use the skills you already have.

Eliminate more carefully.

Use Desmos strategically.

Protect your time.

Reset before Module 2.

Review your mistakes.Warm up.

And please get some sleep.

And remember: if one SAT does not go the way you hoped, one test date does not define your entire admissions process. There will be more opportunities to adjust your preparation and try again.

Good luck on test day—and happy prepping!

Laura Whitmore is the founder and CEO of Strategic Test Prep. She has 19 years of SAT tutoring experience and scores a 1590 on the Digital SAT.