Mead senior gets top score on ACT

Phillip Choi’s ACT score is a hard act to follow.

The Mead High School senior was one of 23 students out of 80,000 who scored the highest possible score of 36 points on the college-entrance exam.

Choi took the test in September and he said when the results came in the mail, he was “a little surprised,” because he felt he rushed through the first section.

Apparently quick thinking isn’t a problem for the 17-year-old student.

“It feels nice,” he said. “I see it as a reward for my hard work but I know when it comes down to it, it really is just a number.”

Choi, the oldest of three children born to Korean parents, was the only student in Washington out of 1,500 to score 36. The average composite score for the national high school class graduating in 2006 was 21.1.

Choi is applying to Rice, Rochester, Northwestern, Washington, MIT and Columbia. He plans on studying cognitive science or neurological science.

“I’m very interested in how the brain works in everyday situations,” he said.

Choi also is interested in politics and public policy. In his free time, he has been the leader of the praise band at the Korean Presbyterian Church of Spokane.