One of the sentences I hear most often from new clients when we’re discussing their child’s diagnostic results on either the SAT or ACT is “I don’t understand how they scored so low. They’re a straight-A student.”
Achieving straight-A’s in school is no small feat. But while these students tend to excel in structured classroom environments, SAT/ACT prep often introduces a new set of challenges. Success on these standardized tests isn’t just about what you know—it’s about how you approach the test.
Let’s look at some of the most common mistakes students with high GPAs make during SAT/ACT prep and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1: Assuming a 4.0 Translates to Automatically Perfect or Near-Perfect Scores
A stellar GPA means that a student has likely worked hard and mastered their school’s curricula. However, grade inflation and varying school standards mean that a 4.0 doesn’t always equate to readiness for standardized tests. A high GPA can often create a false sense of security, which causes students to think that they can get a high score with minimal effort, not worry about a testing timeline, or even take the test without any preparation.
Additionally, students in more progressive schools that de-emphasize testing are often at a disadvantage because they may not be accustomed to the pacing, pressure, and precision that both the SAT and ACT demand of top-scorers. Furthermore, the SAT and ACT often feature content that might not align perfectly with an individual student’s classroom experiences (e.g., grammar).
Solution:
Students with a history of stellar academic records should approach test prep with an open mind. Recognize that the skills required for success in school—that you’ve demonstrated you possess—may be different from the ones you need for success on the SAT or ACT. But you can absolutely learn and hone the skills you need to get there just like you did to get that awesome GPA. Take a diagnostic exam to identity areas that need attention, and tailor your study plan accordingly. Remember, test prep is about mastering the format of the test in addition to crushing its content.
Mistake #2: Overestimating Content Mastery
Being at the top of your class is incredible, and it will certainly make a difference in your college applications. I tell my students that no one gets into college based on their test scores alone, but a low test score (and low is relative to the colleges you’re applying to) could potentially keep you out.
Students who excel in school often assume that they already know all of the material they need to for the SAT or ACT. However, the questions on these tests have a couple of ways of deviating from what you’re learning in school:
- Content you learned in ninth grade or earlier that you may have forgotten (e.g., proving triangle similarity on the SAT, finding greatest common factor/least common multiple on the ACT)
- Obscure topics that you have not yet encountered (e.g., proper use of colons and dashes on both tests, ACT math questions about matrices, vectors, logarithms, or more advanced trig concepts)
- Questions on familiar concepts presented in unfamiliar ways/using unfamiliar language (e.g., SAT math questions—especially those about quadratics—love to use constants and often ask about the sum/product of solutions, which students are not always familiar with)
Solution:
Take a diagnostic test to identify any content gaps—make sure you do error analysis—and focus your studying on the areas that need the most work. As you prep, look for patterns in question formats. Even top students need to familiarize themselves with the test’s unique content and structure.
Speaking of content, if you need a quick but comprehensive grammar review, check out this post: Mastering Grammar for the SAT and ACT.
Mistake #3: Underestimating Timing Challenges
Many teachers consider several factors when determining a student’s quarter, semester, or trimester grade. Those grades are based not only on test performance but also on essays written or projects completed at a student’s own pace, class participation, or untimed group work.
The SAT and ACT, on the other hand, are fast-paced exams where time management is crucial. The current version of the ACT has particularly brutal standard timing for the Math, Reading, and Science sections: 60 questions in 60 minutes for Math and 40 questions—with passages—in 35 minutes for Reading and Science. (It’s worth noting that the Enhanced ACT, debuting digitally in April 2025 and on paper in September 2025, purports to eliminate the current version’s challenging timing.)
Even the brightest students can lose points simply because they aren’t accustomed to working under such tight constraints.
Solution:
Make timed practice a key part of your prep. Start with untimed drills to build your confidence, skills, and comfort with the material, then gradually transition to timed sections. Use a stopwatch to replicate test-day conditions and refine your pacing strategies.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Strategy
Students who are used to getting top grades in school often rely on their academic abilities to “muscle through” the test, neglecting several strategies that can improve their performance. These students often avoid skipping questions because they believe that with enough force, they can figure them out or they refuse to guess when unsure of an answer. These bad test-taking habits can result in running out of time on a section.
Solution:
Learn to think like a top-scoring test-taker rather than like an A-student. Try different test-taking strategies (skipping questions, plugging in the answers or picking numbers for math, etc.) and make note of which ones help you answer questions more efficiently and correctly. Standardized tests aren’t just about demonstrating your knowledge—they’re also about using strategies that can significantly improve your score.
Check out some of my posts on testing strategies:
- Essential Math Strategies for Standardized Tests
- Kate’s Proven Strategy for ACT Reading
Mistake #5: Hyper-focusing on the “Hard” Questions
There are two ways that high-achieving students hyper-focus on the hardest questions:
- When prepping for the SAT or ACT, they practice only the toughest questions because the lower difficulty ones are “too easy” for them. While this may be true, it means they’re also not getting used to what those easy questions look like and will be more likely to make careless mistakes on the real thing.
- When taking a test—whether for practice or the real thing—they spend too much time on difficult questions and waste valuable time at the expense of easier points elsewhere.
Solution:
Learn to think like a top-scoring test-taker rather than like an A-student. Try different test-taking strategies (skipping questions, plugging in the answers or picking numbers for math, etc.) and make note of which ones help you answer questions more efficiently and correctly. Standardized tests aren’t just about demonstrating your knowledge—they’re also about using strategies that can significantly improve your score.
Mistake #6: Assuming that All Study Time is Effective
Top students are often great at studying, but they may also think that spending hours reviewing material is always productive. It makes sense—for a test given in school that requires you to memorize a lot of memorization, the number hours you put into learning that information are often positively correlated with your performance.
Not all study time is created equal, though. Neither passive review nor focusing on content areas that you’re already strong in yields particularly significant improvement. Spending a large number of hours studying doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being productive when it comes to the SAT and ACT.
Solution:
Study actively rather than passively and be intentional about the time you spend studying for the SAT or ACT. Focus on the weaker areas you’ve identified by taking practice tests and spend time solving practice problems, analyzing mistakes, and drilling specific skills. Quality > quantity.
If you want to learn how to make the most out of your prep by utilizing error analysis, check out this post: Error Analysis for Standardized Tests.
Mistake #7: Neglecting Test-Specific Practice
For the most part, classroom tests are significantly different from standardized tests. While school exams often reward comprehensive knowledge and deep thinking, the SAT and ACT prioritize precision, timing, and familiarity with specific question types. It’s not enough to study and practice linear equations—you need to practice solving SAT- or ACT-specific questions that require knowledge of linear equations.
Solution:
Use practice tests from the test-maker. Practice using high-quality third-party resources that best mimic the actual questions you’ll see on test day. You can find my list of favorite resources for both the SAT and ACT here.
Even the best, and most diligent, students can struggle with ACT and SAT prep if they don’t adjust their approach. By recognizing and addressing these common mistakes that students with high GPAs make, you can optimize your preparation to maximize your scores.
Looking for more guidance? Sign up for my newsletter, check out my favorite resources for self-study, or consider working with a tutor to personalize your preparation!
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