The January SAT and the February ACT are just around the corner. And as much as we’d all rather focus on the upcoming holiday festivities, college-bound students must not lose focus on their academic goals.
Here are 6 tips to help students study during the hectic holiday schedules:
1. Manage your time: Your schedule will be different during the holiday break. There are holiday parties, events, concerts, and traveling. You may want to try to block out times in the morning to study, rather than the normal evenings that you used to have free during the semester. Make sure to take time to study, so you can truly enjoy the holiday events without guilt.
2. Get adequate sleep: Get some rest during your holiday break, but don’t use it as an excuse to sleep until noon every day. Students should try to go to bed at a reasonable hour and maintain a routine similar to their normal schedule.
3. Be organized: If you are traveling, take your study materials, laptop, etc with you. You may have time to study in the car or during downtime. But be reasonable, if you are attending an afternoon family Christmas party with your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, you may want to leave your study materials at home. This is the time to enjoy your family and the holiday spirit. Save studying for another time.
4. Communicate with your family: If you plan to set aside time to study, make sure your family knows and ask them to respect that time.
5. Enjoy some holiday time off: Set reasonable expectations and know that your studies will not progress exactly as they normally do. Make sure you spend some quality time with your family and friends during this time.
6. Have an accountability partner: Your tutor, a friend, or a teacher can serve as a mentor or accountability partner to help keep you on track. If you have specific goals – like studying 1 hour each day for the SAT, tell someone your goals. Letting someone be your advocate can help encourage you to stay focused during the holiday break.
Studying and schoolwork can seem like a burden during the holiday break, but successful students know that utilizing this time can really make a difference in their performance on the SAT and ACT.