Nowandforever136 knows you've got an A+ in you somewhere, and she's about to help you find it!—Sparkitors

So a bunch of people probably clicked on this post, right? I’m sure everyone wants to know the secret to acing tests, so here it is: (drumroll, please….)

STUDYING!

Obviously, your parents want you to succeed. And that's great: it means they care about you and believe in your potential and all of that good stuff. But sometimes their laser-like focus can get a little intense.

At least that seems to be the consensus from some of the comments you left after the recent post, ACT + Parents + Pressure=Arrrgh! For example:

Besides studying for the SATs and ACTs, many of you Sparklers are balancing heavy course loads of AP and honors classes. So will those advanced courses help you when it comes to the SAT? Take a look at this comment we received recently from motley_:

So I'm just wondering, how hard are the SATs? I'm a freshman right now, so they are in a couple of years but I have no idea whether or not to stress out about them. I know they are important but I have been in advanced classes all of my life and got straight A's and near perfect scores on all placement and other important tests (of course, I don't know how hard they were) my whole life. So now, I am just wondering if I should be really worried for the SATs or if I should just take them calmly, study and I'll be fine.

lalasunshine took the SAT last November. After a couple of months spent in recovery, she's finally pulled herself together enough to share what she learned from the experience.

Like every other high school student in the U.S., I had to undergo the torturous, arduous, strenuous, onerous, grueling four-hour ordeal known as the SAT. For some time after I took it, just thinking of the SAT would bring back a rush of the horrible memories of that November day when all my brainpower was sucked from my skull as I plowed through question after question. But now that the experience is a couple of months behind me, I can look back on that day with peace and clarity, rather than terror and agony. And so, I present to you my hard earned wisdom on how to deal with the SAT:

Be a thoughtful friend this Christmas and give your friends the gift of SAT relief! Here are some stocking stuffer ideas that you can use to help ease the pain and paper cuts on that long road to the SAT.

Chocolates. Some experts believe that if an idea is associated with a particular taste, the idea will be recalled when experiencing that taste again. Get your friends hooked on chocolate during their studies, then have them bring their chocolates to the testing center for a little pre-test, memory-enhancing boost.

We're wrapping up our discussion of stress—and what you can do about it—by turning our attention to the dreaded timed test. For some test takers, it can be almost impossible to focus on answering questions when you know the minutes are slipping away.

Here’s an email we received from a reader:

I have started to do "meditation," but it seems it's really not my thing. I get really nervous in the examination centre… I frequently find myself in a situation that I lose all hope, especially when there's time pressure.  I have found that SATs are a real tough task for me. If I could only find a solution to mend my problems of getting really nervous and not worry too much about the time remaining, I could do much better… I have talked about my problem to many people and I just didn’t find their suggestions effective enough. Could you help me please?

There’s no way around it: The SAT stresses you guys out. We’ve been dealing lately with score anxiety, but let’s not forget that there are other aspects of the test that get people all worked up. Like learning a bunch of new vocab words.

We received this email from a Sparkler:

I was just wondering if I really have to memorize 3500 words of vocabulary or just the ones [my school] marked. Also, how much will this affect my total SAT score and what is equivalent of an 80, a 90, and what is the full mark?

Yesterday, in light of an email we received from one very stressed out student, we shared some tips to help you calm down and focus when school has you all frazzled. In her email, this student mentions that she wishes she knew how to study. Good study skills are essential to making it through high school and college with your sanity intact, whether you’re studying for the SAT, ACT, or an in-class exam. Here are five killer study tips to help you out.

Kaustav_getbuckiin recently emailed us with a problem that we imagine affects almost everyone:

plzz do tell me hw to improve concentration...and stop gettin diverted durin study tym

We feel your pain, kaustav! You've finally found a chunk of time to study for the SAT, but right when you're in the middle of working out how many combinations of blue and red outfits Ingrid can make from the clothes in her closet, your mind drifts back to what your friend told you about your crush. Then you remember that you have to DVR The Dollhouse if you want to go to the movies tonight, which you promised yourself you'd do only if you finished your SAT review. Augh!!!