Johnston Senior Notches Perfect Score on ACT

The third time was the charm for one senior.

Jeff Carley succeeded in obtaining a perfect score on the ACT.

"That was the ultimate goal," Jeff, 17, said. "I was hoping my personal best would be 36, but as long as I felt I was prepared for it and did as well as I could, I'd be happy."

The first two times Jeff took the ACT, he received a 33.

"The first time I just went in and took it not really preparing at all," he said.

The second time, Jeff planned to study, but since it was during the school year his busy schedule got in the way.

"The third time, I bought a review book and every day for two weeks I did a practice test in math or science," he said.

When test day came in mid-June, Jeff wasn't sure how well he actually did on the test.

"Actually, when I was in the test, I didn't really feel … I did well. … I thought I might know in my gut that I did 36, but I didn't feel that," Jeff said.

A few weeks later he received an email announcing test scores were ready.

"I was pleasantly surprised, but also felt I put in preparation and did what I needed to potentially get a 36," he said.

While Jeff isn't certain where he'd like to go to college, he does plan to major in biochemistry.

He also shared a little advice for other students preparing for the ACTs.

"What really helped was doing the practice tests," he said. "Since I had taken it before I was able to identify areas that I was already doing well in, then see what I really needed to focus on."

The practice book he used also had explanations to answers of questions.

"After I did the practice test, I could check and see what I did wrong and hopefully not make that mistake on the test day."