Millions of students this year will sweat, curse, and cry over a test that will help or hurt their chances of getting into the best colleges in the world. The SAT exam is a standardized test that only a few institutions will ignore, meaning they’re pretty much still required by all the major top universities.

While there are many strategies to gain the upper hand on the SAT, the following tips to keep in mind are not to be brushed aside.

• The Test Is NOT Trying to Trick You

The test is designed very straightforward. There are NO trick questions. There are no two right answers, and there are no “secret” patterns. There is one answer that is right. You just have to be able eliminate the other answers, it’s that simple. The more you second guess, or think that the test is “tricking” you with the way things are worded or answers presented, the worse your score will become.

• Do Not Ignore Any Context

Skimming passages, reading through questions, and answering in a high-speed fashion is a terrible idea. Do not do this. This usually trips students up. The SAT has a deliberate writing style to ensure that you read every word, and understand the context of the grammar. If you skim or skip introductions, or try to out-think the question and answers to speed through, you will miss something.

• Double Down on Math

Math is not any more difficult than the language portions. In fact, it can actually be easier once you master it because the questions and answers are always more objective than other parts of the test; you are either correct or wrong with no room left to subjective interpretation like critical reading. So double down on math. Practice and spend more time solving practice questions before your test, and it will pay off.

• Go Back to Basic Grammar Rules

The best kept secret to SAT test strategies relies heavily on grammar, deliberately written in OLDER grammar rules. So you could say that it favors a more traditional form of English, and slang or colloquial language will dock you points. To offset this, go back to the basics and relearn different parts of speech, sentence structure, and what may seem “easy” or “archaic” grammar rules. Many students don’t realize how formal the grammar elements , which is why the new SAT trips up many students.