Shelly Agarwal earned the top possible score, 36. She nearly matched that with 1580 out of a possible 1600 on the SAT.
By TIFFANI SHERMAN
Published July 14, 2003
Agarwal
TARPON SPRINGS - Sweaty palms, dry mouth and butterflies in the stomach are usual signs of test-taking anxiety.
One Tarpon Springs teen didn't need to worry.
Shelly Agarwal, 15, aced her test, scoring 36 out of a possible 36 on the ACT Assessment, a national college entrance exam. By comparison, the national average score for the ACT is 20.8. Florida's average score is 20.4.
"I was really happy and surprised," said Shelly, who will be a senior this fall at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa. "I didn't expect anything that high."
Shelly took the ACT in April along with 434,563 others nationwide. She was one of only 51 students nationwide and only one of two in Florida to score a 36 that day. She is the first ever at Berkeley Prep.
The ACT is divided into four parts: math, reading, English and science. Its 215 multiple-choice questions are based on high school curriculums. Virtually all colleges and universities in the U.S. accept it, and many use it instead of the SAT in admissions.
Of course, Shelly didn't need to worry about the SAT, either. She scored a 1580 out of a possible 1600 on that.
Academics are a family affair. Both of her parents are doctors in Pasco County. Her father, Dr. Sudhir Agarwal, is a cardiologist, and her mother, Dr. Usha Agarwal, is an infectious diseases specialist. Her father said he always expected a lot from his daughter, but "we never thought she would be that good (on the test)."
Her brother Siddhartha, 18, started it all.
"I always had my brother as an example, and he kind of set the standard for me," Shelly said. He's going into his second year at Harvard University.
Shelly's father said his wife is "very particular about the children" and helps them excel. Shelly excelled so much she skipped second and fifth grades. As a result, she'll start her senior year at Berkeley Prep in the fall, but won't turn 16 until October.
"I can't wait until I start driving," said Shelly, who got her learner's permit last year. She'll be one of the last people in her class to get a driver's license.
But being younger than her classmates isn't a big deal to her. Academics and activities are. This school year will be her second as co-editor-in-chief of the Berkeley yearbook. She's also active in the math club and is a leader in the school's writing program.
This summer, she's getting a taste of college life. Shelly is spending a few months at the University of Chicago doing molecular biology research about how yeast cells multiply. Her father said it may help with a cure for cancer someday.
"I feel very happy she has initiative," he said. "She would get very bored for three months living at home."
Shelly is one of about half a dozen high schoolers working with undergraduate and graduate students.
"Professors allow us to work in their labs," she said in a telephone interview this week. The rest of the time she is free to see museums and other sites in Chicago. Her parents are coming to visit in a few weeks.
They'll keep with family tradition while they're there.
"We always eat dinner together," Shelly said. She said it helps to keep them close. This fall, some of those mealtime conversations will no doubt be about higher education. Shelly still has to decide where she wants to go to college for real. The University of Chicago is on her list. So are Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
She also has to decide what she'll study in college. South Asian studies, political science, law, math and science are all possibilities, she said.
But first she has another year of high school.
"Senior year is less work than junior year" because test-prep classes are in the past, she said. "I'm looking forward to that."
