WHS student aces national achievement test
Whitefish High School senior Molly
Schmidt knew her ACT score was important, but heading into her
first attempt at taking the test she did little preparation
work.
Schmidt, 17, did some studying the
night before, but she was reassured knowing that she could take the
test a second time if her score wasn’t what she wanted.
There was almost no reason for her to
consider that second chance at the test once she received her
results.
Schmidt earned a perfect score of
36.
“I thought I did good, but I didn’t
think I did that good,” she said. “I just took a look at the kinds
of questions on the test the night before.”
The ACT is a national college
admissions test that covers English, math science and reading. The
composite score is an average of the four tests and is scored on a
scale of one to 36.
The number of students who earn a
perfect score varies each year. Among the class of 2011, only 704
of the more than 1.6 million students earned a score of 36.
Schmidt may have only briefly prepared
for her ACT test, but she has been working toward the test and her
future for sometime now.
“It’s from doing really well in
school,” she said of the score. “And being serious about my
education.”
She is the daughter of Carl and Annette
Schmidt.
Schmidt is set to graduate from
Flathead Valley Community College with an associate’s degree in
May, just weeks before she will graduate from high school in
June.
The Running Start program has allowed
her to earn college classes while still attending high school.
She also works part-time as an office
assistant at the DePratu car dealership.
It’s a busy schedule that has at times
had her studying late into the night, but Schmidt doesn’t mind.
Last year she was taking two to three college classes at one
time.
“I wanted to get away from high school
and challenge myself,” she said. “I wanted to see what was out
there that I might like.”
Through her college classes, Schmidt
found an interest in the brain and nervous system.
While taking one class at FVCC, Schmidt
was coming home ready to share the facts she had learned. One
favorite: the brain will melt if it’s outside the protective fluid
that is inside the skull.
“It made me really excited about
neuroscience,” she said. “I’m interested in a research career for
diseases like Parkinson’s. I like learning about the connections
the brain makes that we wouldn’t usually think about. I like
knowing what’s working behind the scenes.”
Schmidt has been accepted to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston starting in
September and plans to major in brain and cognitive sciences.
Schmidt does have interests outside
schoolwork. She enjoys playing with the family dogs and playing
video games. She also was a classical ballet dancer up to ninth
grade.
“Ballet taught me to give everything my
best efforts,” she said. “I’m a perfectionist — I’m not sure if
that’s because of ballet or the other way around. At one point I
thought about being a professional ballerina, but if I was still
dancing I wouldn’t be taking Running Start classes.”