Three PUSD students achieve perfect SAT scores

Three students in the Poway Unified School District have a little less to worry about when it comes to the SAT.

Westview High School student Henry Xu, Del Norte High School student Jane Huang and Rancho Bernardo High School student Isabella Ortiz all earned perfect scores of 2400 on their SATs, which they took in October. All three students are juniors, and were taking the test for the first time.

The three students were honored by the district at the January monthly school board meeting on Jan. 20, where they took photos with Superintendent John Collins, their families and their principals.

All three said they were surprised by their perfect scores.

“Coming out of the test, I was prepared not to do very well,” said Xu. “I couldn’t sleep the day the scores came out. I couldn’t believe it.”

“I definitely didn’t expect (to earn a perfect score),” said Huang. “I took a prep course, but I did not expect a perfect score.”

Huang said that she was so surprised about her score that she refreshed the web page several times. “I went back later that week to check again, to make sure my score hadn’t changed,” she said.

Ortiz said she was shocked at first at her score. “Of course, I was extremely shocked. But it felt extremely good, it felt like my hard work had paid off. It was a huge relief that I’ll never have to take the SAT again.”

All three students said they credited their success to the SAT prep course they took over the summer at Summa Education, which was a 16-week course which averaged to about 15 hours a week.

“It was a lot of work, I kind of gave up my summer,” said Ortiz.

The classes met three times a week, and held practice tests lasting about 4 hours once a week as well. Xu also took weekly classes during the school year.

All three students said they found the math portion of the SAT the easiest part. “The math was easy, just an application of basic knowledge,” said Ortiz. “But you really had to catch small mistakes.”

Xu concurred, saying that the math was easy but he really had to check his work to make sure he hadn’t made any simple errors.

Xu and Ortiz both said the essay portion of the exam was the most difficult part. “The hardest part was building a portfolio for the writing portion,” said Ortiz. “It was different from any other essay I’ve ever done.”

Huang said she found the critical reading section to be the most difficult. “It was very unpredictable,” said Huang. “Even if you had the skills, you’re not guaranteed to get the right answer.”

All three students gave very similar advice when asked what they’d tell future SAT test-takers: don’t stress about it.

“Even though the SAT is a big part of your future, it’s not worth losing sleep over,” said Xu. “It’s more of a test of what you learned in school, not what you prepared for.”

Huang agreed, saying students shouldn’t overwhelm themselves. “Don’t spend your whole summer (preparing for the test),” said Huang, “and walk into the test with a positive attitude. Don’t stress, it’s just one test.”

Ortiz said prep classes are worth it, if the student is willing to put in the time and money. “The day before the test, don’t stress. The day before I took it, I just ate pizza and played video games with my brother, and I felt like it helped. Cramming will just stress you out.”