Laura Judge and Haiwen Liu are friends, classmates and bandmates at Warren Township High School, and the two seniors now have something else in common — perfect ACT scores to brandish in their college search.
Judge, 18, and Liu, 17, both of Gurnee, scored the coveted ACT score of 36 this year. It was Liu’s first try in February, and Judge on her second shot in June. Judge brought her score up one point from a 35 she achieved in her first effort.
“I was very excited. I was on vacation in Australia and I sent a picture to all of my friends,” Judge said after school Monday. She was able to get online to learn of her perfect score while out of the country.
Although she prepared meticulously, Liu said she was “kind of surprised” when she learned of her perfect score.
“I had a lot of practice books and I took a practice test every weekend,” Liu said. “I checked what I did wrong each weekend and tried again. It prepared me really well.”
She said she started that routine the summer before her junior year.
Judge said her approach included taking accelerated classes beginning in middle school.
“I like to challenge myself, so most of it comes naturally,” she said. “But I still have to do the work.”
Liu plays clarinet in band and Judge plays French horn. They are currently in marching band season, but play in symphonic band as well.
Both said they are starting their college search and don’t have any particular schools in mind yet, but they agreed that their abilities in math, science and technology will influence their choice of majors.
“Biology, math, pretty much any science classes,” said Liu, looking toward university life. “I like physics as well.”
Judge said biology is one of her options, too, but also said she is thinking about branching out into the social sciences.
Pat Keeley, principal at Warren High School’s Almond Campus, said the school has produced perfect ACT scores before, but this is the first time in his tenure in which two students achieved the honor in the same year.
“We are extremely proud of Laura and Haiwen,” Keeley said. “Their dedication to their academic progress is an example for all of our students to follow.”
Their list of accomplishments grew even more when they were announced earlier this month as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program for 2016. The district’s Board of Education recognized the pair at its Sept. 8 meeting.
While the actual number of students attaining perfect ACT scores changes each year, on average, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the test nationally earn the perfect composite score of 36.
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