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My Concerned Observation About Sacrifices for a Good SAT Score

By Dr. Brink, Ph.D., 32 years teaching mathematics · October 28, 2026

I have taught math for 32 years, and every fall I watch the same thing happen. A student tells me, “I need a 1400.” Then I ask what their next four weeks look like, and the answer is a full work schedule, practice every afternoon, two weekend parties and a few hours a night on their phone. The SAT gets whatever is left over, which is usually nothing.

I am concerned for those students. Many of them seem to believe a good score will just happen on the day, as long as they want it badly enough. It does not work that way. Wanting a 1400 is not a plan for getting one.

What should take a back seat

A month before your SAT, if at all possible, these things should step aside so the test can come first:

• Work. If you can cut your hours for four weeks, do it. Ask your manager early, not the week before.
• Extracurricular activities. Talk to your coach or director. Most of them would rather have you miss a few things now than lose out on a college later.
• Social events. The parties and get-togethers will still be there in November.
• Social media. This is the big one. Put the phone in another room while you study, or take the apps off for a month. Most students are surprised how much time it gives back.

I am not saying give up everything you enjoy. I am saying that for one month, the SAT gets first claim on your time, and the other things fit around it instead of the other way around.

Why it is worth it

A good SAT score opens so many doors: admission to colleges you could not otherwise get into, merit scholarships, honors programs. A few hundred dollars of lost shifts or a month of missed parties is a small price next to four years of scholarship money. Students who make that trade for a month rarely regret it. The ones who regret it are usually the ones who did not.

Not every student can

I also know that some students are not able to make these sacrifices. Some of my students work because their families need the money, or look after younger brothers and sisters after school. That is not a lack of willingness, and I would never tell those students to quit a job their family depends on.

If that is you, do what you can with the time you have. Thirty focused minutes a day, with the phone away, adds up to about 15 hours in a month. That is real preparation. Use the time well: take a full practice test first, find the mistakes you keep making, and fix those instead of studying everything. My free site, freepracticeSAT.com, has unlimited full-length practice tests and costs nothing.

A month is not very long

Four weeks of putting other things second is a short season. You have spent years in school getting ready for this one test. It deserves your best effort for the last 30 days. If you need a 1400, make the next month look like the month of someone who is going to get one.

More reading: Is 30 days enough time to study for SAT math? and the 20-mile march.