Bishop Gorman senior perfect on ACT, SAT on first try

Bishop Gorman High School senior Sophia Adrangi has accomplished a rare feat: getting a perfect score her first try on two college entrance exams.

The now-17-year-old took the SAT in fall 2018 — and got a score of 1600 — and the ACT in April.

On the ACT, fewer than 1 percent of test-takers earn the highest possible score of 36, according to a statement from the nonprofit that administers the test. For the class of 2018, that equated to 3,741 students out of 1.9 million.

High-schoolers take college entrance exams like the ACT as part of the college admissions process, and it’s one factor schools consider when deciding whom to accept.

“Obviously, earning a perfect score on any of these exams is exceedingly difficult,” said Ryan Pietranton, college counselor at Bishop Gorman, a private Catholic school.

In the past, a handful of Bishop Gorman students have earned a perfect score on a college entrance exam — including Sunny Lee, who did a couple of years ago on both the SAT and ACT — but not on the first try for both.

Adrangi’s work ethic distinguishes her, Pietranton said. Also, “she knows she’s smart, but she doesn’t necessarily flaunt it to other people.”

Before taking the SAT, Adrangi, who lives about a mile from Bishop Gorman, downloaded practice tests. She’d take one, mark her mistakes and then try again a couple of weeks later.

When she found out she’d achieved a perfect score, she was “not exactly surprised,” she said, but was excited. She told her mother first, along with her brothers, a couple of close friends and math teacher Barrett Henzel.

Adrangi said she didn’t prepare for the ACT because it was a busy time with Advanced Placement tests and track season.

To celebrate the perfect score, she ran a victory lap around her house.

Henzel, a former Bishop Gorman math teacher, taught Adrangi for two years. The fact she got perfect scores is “no surprise,” he said.

In class, Adrangi was “one of the most meticulous note-takers I’ve ever seen,” Henzel said, adding he could turn her notes into a textbook.

Adrangi also answered every “challenge question” correctly on calculus tests, Henzel said, including one no one else had ever been able to figure out.

When he’d give instructions, Adrangi asked questions one or two steps ahead of what the class was learning, Henzel said. He’d often tell her they’d eventually get to that material.

Adrangi wants to become a software engineer and is interested in cybersecurity and data science. She’s looking into universities such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University — her top choice — as well as California Polytechnic State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Adrangi did a mechanical engineering internship in July at JBA Consulting Engineers in Las Vegas. Bishop Gorman has a program to place students in internships; Adrangi stayed longer than what was required and worked 40 hours a week.

She’s on Bishop Gorman’s cross country and track teams and is part of a few honor societies. Earlier in her high school career, she played lacrosse and was a member of a creative writing club.

Adrangi’s recommendation for other students preparing for college entrance exams: Take practice tests on your own and “self-analyze your mistakes.”

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.