Andover's Anshu Chen Aces the ACT

A few weeks ago, we told you about Rohan Sinha, a Lahser High School student who scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. Though a rare feat, he was not the only local student to perform that well on the college preparatory exam.

Anshu Chen, a junior at Andover high School, also aced the test, according to a letter sent by the ACT developers.

“I was really shocked,” Chen told www.bloomfield.org. “I studied all summer, but I was not expecting it.”

Though the number of perfect scores varies year to year, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students that take the test earn a top score, according to ACT organizers. Among the high school graduating class of 2012, only 781 of more than 1.66 million could boast of accomplishment.

She admits practicing for the exam helped her achieve the perfect score, but was still unprepared for the essay portion of the grueling test. Her advice to others, however, is to not let the test and the process define them.

“The ACT is just a measure of how you studied for the exam," she said. "So, if they’re not aiming to get into an Ivy League school, I wouldn’t suggest anyone look at the ACT as a measure of their character or how intelligent they are as a person.”
 
Though still weighing her options for college, Chen said she plans to study economics, and that she's eyeing the University of Michigan or New York University.

This summer, she plans to volunteer at the Henry Ford Hospital because a friend  is going to medical school and she wants to see what it’s like.

“I want to keep my options open,” she said.