Chaska High School senior Sam Peterson scored a perfect 2400 on the SAT, but it's not something he'll make a big fuss about.
"I've received a fair amount of attention," he said. "In all reality, I just filled in the bubbles. It's not something that is defining of me."
And, he confessed, "I don't know if I could do it again."
But this was no accident.
Peterson was prepared when he sat down to take the tests.
While many students do little to get ready beyond taking a sample test or two, Peterson said he began preparing for the SAT when he was in seventh grade. Through a program offered through Northwestern University, he began taking the test for fun.
During his sophomore year, Peterson said the format for the exam "changed dramatically" when an essay portion was added. That changed the perfect score from 1600 to 2400. Despite the changes, he scored a 2140 as a 10th-grader.
Last winter, when Peterson was a junior, he had taken the ACT just a few weeks prior to the SAT and had scored a 35 out of a possible score of 36.