MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Heritage High School student nailed a perfect score on her ACT for college admissions and that’s only one of the junior’s outstanding achievements.
Jenna Estes joins the ranks of less than half of 1% of all test takers who earned a perfect score. She scored a 36 the first time taking the college entrance exam.
Estes has been taking practice tests since sophomore year, but she credits the support of her family and her ACT prep teacher for giving her a boost.
“She was very focused, and you could tell that she’d be disappointed if she didn’t get the scores she wanted and then she’d work at it again,” Dexter Day, Estes’ ACT prep teacher, said.
Estes is motivated to find success in and out of the classroom. She recently competed in Florida with the award-winning Heritage Singers where the school’s choirs received top honors.
“I know I want to keep something in music because I’ve done music since like 5th grade. I do my church choir, I do choir here, we do our musicals. I just want to keep something in music if I can,” Estes said.
Estes says she’s grateful for the doors that will open because of her test score.
“I can figure out what I want to do. I’m not really restricted by much because some people are like I wanted to do this but I don’t have the scores for that or I don’t have this for that and so I would just want to say thank you because now I have that stuff that even if I don’t know what I want to do I can choose, I have that option,” Estes said.
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While she continues to narrow down colleges, her biggest supporters are cheering her on to the finish line.
“If I could jump, I would have jumped high, I’m just telling you, but I was just so excited for her because she’s worked so hard and she’s focused so well on this. You work and let it happen, it will happen. She’s just a wonderful kid,” Day said.
The last Heritage High student to earn a perfect ACT score was in 2013.
