Other test prep guides offer info only on the SAT itself — Evidence-Based
Reading and Writing Test, Math Test, and Optional Essay, and then it’s over and
out. But we here at Up Your Score know there’s more to SAT success than just
choosing the correct answers. For crucial stuff like insights on how to best fill in
the little answer bubbles, how to deal with a nasty proctor, what to wear on test
day, and much more, read on!
LITTLE CIRCLES
Robert Southey, the author of “The Three Bears” and arguably the worst poet
ever, once said, “The desert circle spreads like the round ocean.” He was
referring, of course, to the metaphorical relationship between circles and the
SAT.
Circles are quite significant in that there are many of them that you will have
to fill in during the course of the test. This is about how to fill in those little
circles.
Undoubtedly, you’ve had to fill in lots of little circles in your life. You
probably never gave much thought to technique or speed. In fact, until the
publication of Up Your Score, no one had ever researched the science of filling in
circles. We were the first.
Our original groundbreaking study showed that some students spend an
unimaginably wasteful 2.3 seconds per circle. At that rate, they will spend 7
minutes and 4 seconds of their total testing time filling in circles. For “O-
lympic” competitors, we developed the In-to-Out Circle Method, which enabled
students to reduce their time to an unprecedented 0.4 seconds per circle, saving
almost 6 minutes of time to spend working on the test.
In-to-Out Circle Method