Phoenix high school student earns perfect score on ACT exam

PHOENIX (FOX 10) - "I still can't believe I got a perfect score, but I believe all of my hard work that I did leading up to the test got me that," Akshat Rathi said.

Akshat, a 16-year-old junior at Pinnacle High School, recently received some pretty good news.

After taking the ACT, or American College Test, for the first time this year, Akshat earned a perfect composite score of 36.

"You're in shock, like you can't believe it really happened!" he said.

He and his parents are ultimately so proud of his rare achievement.

"I remember the first thing I did, I ran over to my mom in the kitchen and I was like, 'I got a perfect score on the ACT,' and she couldn't believe me either," Akshat said. "Then we called my dad and we just had a nice family moment together!"

But what made the results even more special was receiving a letter from ACT CEO Marten Roorda.

"My dad started searching up how many people get a perfect score on the ACT and he's like, 'barely any people do it... that's unbelievable,'" Akshat said.

In fact, only two-tenths out of one percent of the nation's students taking the ACT earn a perfect score.

Akshat did it on the first try, so we asked him how he prepared for the test -- he told us, he was nervous.

"I just started clearing my mind and focused on those questions at hand instead of worrying about time," he said.

But there was a method he used behind earning the perfect result.

"At home, I made sure to take a lot of practice tests to really get used to the format of the test," he said.