NEW JERSEY (PIX11) — Approximately two million students take the SAT every year.
Less than one percent achieve a perfect score. West Orange High School senior Sahli Negassi is among those few hundred.
Negassi, who also runs cross country, compared taking the test to competing in a race.
“When you’re on the line, you’ve already put in the work,” said Negassi. “Your body is already as strong as it needs to be. At that point, the race is the easiest part. So I just went into it with that mindset of just trusting myself.”
Negassi is also a member of six honor societies, plays the cello, and spent two seasons on the color guard.
“Some days, I would come into school at 7 a.m. and leave at 9 p.m.,” said Negassi.
e first took the SATs in May and scored 1530. When he took them again in June, he received a perfect score of 1600.
“I’m not totally convinced, to this day, that there isn’t an asterisk that I’m missing in, like, white font,” said Negassi.
West Orange High School principal Oscar Guerrero only recently learned about Negassi’s achievement and decided it deserved celebration.
“I was shocked and proud and amazed, all at the same time,” said Guerrero. “What I’m most impressed about is just how well-rounded he is…He’s so involved in our community and is truly a culture carrier for our school district in giving back and making this place a better place.”
Negassi never took a test prep class but said he studied every day if his schedule allowed it.
He plans to use his perfect score to secure at seat at Harvard and eventually become an engineer or a lawyer. He wants to give back, noting that his achievements wouldn’t be possible without the help of others.
“I got here because my family supported me,” said Negassi. “I had teachers who challenged me…I think it’s crucial to see it as what *we* are capable of accomplishing.”
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