With summer already upon us, PowerScore would like to share a few funny anecdotes with SAT parents and students to help everyone relax. These stories and essays will show students exactly what NOT to do on test day.

If students feel that they did not do as well as they had hoped this past June, all is not lost! There is still time to prepare before the October test. Since SAT scores play a significant role in most college admissions decisions, the SAT can be one of the most important tests that high school students will ever take.

Fame and fortune do not constitute exemption from the SAT. Some of these celebrities started off right where most students are: struggling to succeed on this difficult exam. Here are some interesting examples of what the rich and famous have received on their SATs (for more celebrity scores go to http://www.powerscore.com/sat/help/celebrity_scores.htm):

(For these celebrities a perfect score was 1600, based on 800 Math and 800 Verbal)

Howard Stern: Radio Personality
o Score: 870

George W. Bush: President of the United States
o Score: 1206

Al Gore: Former Vice President of the United States
o Score: 1355

Stephen King: Author
o Score: 1300s –“People don’t like SATs these days because everyone’s got the idea that ‘tests are, like, unfair, dude.’”

Paul Allen: Microsoft Co-Founder
o Score: 1600

Jennifer Lopez: Actress and singer
o Score: “Nail polish” –What she said she got on her SATs, as reported in the New York Post

Note: when taking the SAT, nail polish cannot substitute for a number 2 pencil.

When test day rolls around and nerves begin to wear thin, test takers can find comfort in the knowledge that their experiences will not be as bad as those of the following students. If a student was humiliated because an elbow slid off the desk as drowsiness set in while reading that very interesting Critical Reading passage about lunar seas on Mars, that embarrassment pales in comparison to these horror stories:

“I was sitting at my desk going through the Math section when I heard this awful noise. I turned to the back of the classroom and this girl was so nervous that she threw up all over her test. She ran out of the room crying and someone came to clean it up. The smell was nauseating.”
–Samantha F.

“I was about 45 minutes into the SAT when a St. Patrick’s Day Parade went marching by outside the window. Bagpipes, drums, cymbals, and all.”
–Akiko K.

“I had been fighting a pretty horrible head cold for about five days leading up to the SAT, and when I woke up on the morning of the test I could tell that my symptoms–coughing, sneezing, runny nose–were showing no signs of improvement. In a panic, I did the first thing I could think of: I quickly drank about half of a bottle of Nyquil. The plan seemed to be working at first, as I felt a lot better on the way to the test center, but by the time the test began I quickly became aware of my mistake. I could barely keep my eyes open as the proctor read the test directions, and at some point near the beginning of the second section I laid my head down on my desk and fell asleep. It wasn’t until the first break (after section 3!), when another student woke me up, that I realized I had slept through two whole sections of the SAT! Obviously I canceled my score, but the embarrassment of snoring through 45 minutes of the SAT remains with me to this day.”
–Steve S.

The current SAT contains a Writing section. Writing is an essential skill and, when done properly, shows that students are able to clearly communicate their ideas to others. However, students should proceed with caution because sentences like these (from actual high school essays) will not result in high SAT scores:

• Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.
  
  
• Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He died before he ever reached Canada.
  
  
• Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.

After having a good laugh at some of these stories, it’s time to relax over the summer. The next SAT is administered on October 6th so there is plenty of time for preparation. No one should worry about forgetting what lachrymose meant (tearful, sad) or neglecting to take the absolute value before solving the equation. Instead, the focus for the summer should be on getting ready for the next test to insure that past mistakes are not repeated. While studying hours on end for the Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing sections this summer, here are two suggestions for students to keep in mind:

1. “Taking the SAT is like going to the doctor. It scares the willies out of you, but once you get there it’s really not that bad, and in the end it’s all for the best.” –Anonymous
   
   
2. No Nyquil the morning of the SAT.

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