Ashley Michel, 16, a rising senior at Faith Lutheran High School, poses with a copy of her ACT score outside her home Friday, July 24, 2020. Michel recently scored a top composite score of 36 on her ACT test.
Monday, July 27, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Ashley Michel, 16, a rising senior at Faith Lutheran High School, poses with her father, Herbert Michel, outside their home Friday July 24, 2020. Ashley Michel recently scored a top composite score of 36 on her ACT test.
When Faith Lutheran High School’s Ashley Michel took the ACT college-entrance exam the first time, she did well. But she knew she could do better.
She just didn’t realize how much better.
On her second try in June, Michel, 16, earned the highest possible composite score of 36. Fewer than a half of 1% of students who take the ACT earn a top score.
“I had taken the ACT once before and had a tutor help me prep that time,” Michel said. “I got a really good score, but I wanted to get an even better score. I prepped by myself for this test, used a lot of the practice tests and used a lot of the online materials ACT offers. I was constantly drilling practice problems.”
The test, used by colleges and universities help qualify students for admission, covers four subjects — mathematics, English, reading and science.
Among the U.S. high school graduating class of 2019, only 4,879 out of nearly 1.8 million students who took the ACT earned a top composite score. In Nevada, 28 students out of over 35,000 got a top score.
After her second test — she had to go to Utah to take it because of COVID-19 — Michel knew she did well, but she still had some doubts.
“I definitely was wondering about some questions,” she said. “I thought maybe I could have spent more time on some questions, but, overall, I felt good about it. Now, I’m just hoping to get into the schools I’d like to get into.”
Her top three choices are the University of Chicago, Columbia University and Georgetown University.
In a letter to Michel, ACT CEO Marten Roorda said her achievement on the test “is significant and rare. Your exceptional scores will provide any college or university with ample evidence of your readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.”
Michel said she’d like to go into the medical profession, possibly in the area of plastic surgery. This summer, she’s doing an internship at Bellavue Medical Vein and Laser Institute in Las Vegas.
Her father, attorney Herbert Michel, said his daughter has always tried to take care of other people and put others ahead of herself.
She is also naturally inquisitive, he said.
“She would ask questions about everything — why, why, why. That carries on to today,” he said.
