After a late night studying for a physics test, Colleyville Heritage High School senior Rohail Parveez started his morning with a reason to celebrate: a perfect ACT score.
On his way to school, Parveez received an email notifying him that his September ACT results were available.
“It was a beautiful 36 waiting at the top for me,” he exclaimed.
Parveez had earned a 35—one point shy of a perfect score—when he took the ACT for the first time back in July without any exam preparation.
“I didn’t study for it,” Parveez explained. “I just wanted to see what would happen.”
Knowing he was only one point off, prompted him to want to take the exam again.
He returned in September, but this time after reviewing grammar, punctuation, geometry and calculator functions.
“I did that because I was now studying for the SAT a bit,” he added.
This time, he achieved the perfect score.
Not only that, he scored a 1560 on the SAT—only 40 points off from receiving a perfect score on that exam.
“So it looks like I’m going back for that [SAT],” he stated. “I’ll probably take the November [SAT] exam. I’m incredibly busy with speech and debate and those are only on Saturdays. SATs are also only on Saturdays.
Parveez credits his preparation to years of challenging coursework in GCISD. He said that his advanced classes explore topics beyond those covered on the college admissions exams.
He also credits his teachers for supporting his accelerated math studies, strengthening his English and reading skills, and building his understanding of chemistry and physics.
In particular, he credits his time in speech and debate with teacher Wil Mathison.
“I've grown in speech and debate for the past four years and I really credit all my academic success to my time on that team. It's really been the backbone of me developing an academic culture for learning.”
Looking toward college, he plans to major in physics, with a particular interest in quantum physics, and hopes to attend Rice University or Yale University.
He remains grateful to the people who have helped him along the way.
“I want to thank my friends, teachers and my family,” he said. “Without your support, I would not be where I am today.”