University High senior earns perfect scores on SAT and ACT

University High School senior Fayyaz Ahamed earned a perfect 2400 on the SAT and a 36 on the ACT on his first try, Fresno State reported Sept. 30.

Fayyaz, 16, said he was surprised by the results, which he received only days apart.

“It was a state of really happy disbelief,” he said.

“My parents were probably more surprised than I was; my dad said he was actually crying when he was at work, and I texted him the results.”

Perfect scores on either test are rare; only 0.03 percent of the 1.7 million students who took the SAT earned a 2400. About 0.08 percent of the 1.9 million students who took the ACT earned a composite score of 36.

Fayyaz took the tests in June after two weeks of nonstop preparation using online test services and textbooks full of practice exams.

“I tried to average around two practice tests a day, and then reviewing and figuring out why I missed a certain question,” he said. “They were all strictly timed so I was simulating the test mindset, and I was making myself more confident for taking the test.”

Fayyaz is used to rigorous studying, maintaining a 4.25 GPA, five Advanced Placement (AP) courses and two Fresno State courses and a lab. He is also a member of the Academic Decathlon team, spending about 40 hours per week preparing for competition.

His top collegiate choices include a six-year medical program at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and a seven-year program at Northwestern University in Illinois. He also lists Harvard, Columbia, UCLA and University of California, Berkeley as possibilities.

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 2:10 PM with the headline "University High senior earns perfect scores on SAT and ACT."