NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffAcademicsCollege Guidance
Seven score perfect on math segment of SAT
Nov 17, 2004 8:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Dennis Kim is one of seven Darlington seniors who scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the SAT this year, and he has a bit of advice for underclassmen.
“Consistency is the most important aspect in everything. Be consistent in your study, whether it be for the SAT or school work. The result will be surprising,” he said.
Kim, who scored 800 in March 2004 and wishes to study bio-medicine at Columbia University, said not only is math one of his strongest subjects, but math teacher Pat Waddell has been one of his greatest influences during his time at Darlington.
“If she weren’t here, I wouldn’t have been as eager to participate in any activities,” said Kim, a soccer player and member of Math Team, SST, Chess Club, Science Club, German Club, Mu Alpha Theta, International Club, Wind Ensemble and Northwest Georgia Winds.
Fellow Math Team member and soccer player Davis Grizzard also boasted a perfect score after taking the test four times.
“When my parents told me, I said, ‘Finally!’” said Grizzard, who plans to attend the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and major in business management. “I was not surprised because I knew I had the potential since math is my best subject. My favorite classes have been calculus and physics.”
Grizzard said the key to success in school is keeping it interesting and credits Carl Paxton, chairman of the math department, and science teacher Donald Sweeney with teaching courses that are both entertaining and productive.
“Follow your passions,” he said. “Life will be much more enjoyable if you take classes you find interesting.”
Classmate Kelly Hoyt added that it’s always possible to make your subjects interesting.
“Learn to love learning. Develop a passion in a subject or two and connect that subject to your other subjects,” she said.
Alan Luo agreed. “And don’t study just for tests and grades,” he said. “It’s not hard to get a perfect score, you just have to be careful.”
Luo and Hoyt both took SAT classes to help prepare them for the test.
“I took half of a math SAT prep course and half of an English prep course and taught the other half of the English prep course,” said Hoyt. “I also read most of Kaplan’s ‘SAT in a week’ the week before I took them in May.”
Apparently the classes paid off.
“The day I took the test, I called my mom and said, ‘Mom, I don’t think I missed any on the math portion,’” said Hoyt.
She was right.
“My mom was in utter shock when she found out about the 800. She said that she remembered my phone call on the day of the test and remembered thinking ‘Yeah right,’” recalled Hoyt, who plans to pursue a career as a high school math teacher.
“Dr. Bob McGraw has been one of my most influential teachers [during my time at Darlington], because he has helped to further inspire me to pursue higher education and become a teacher,” said Hoyt. “And Mr. Tim Foote, because he has inspired me to conquer the world.”
Other students scoring 800 on the math section were Pinn Chaysiri, Leslie Goldberg and Brian Eberhard.
“Consistency is the most important aspect in everything. Be consistent in your study, whether it be for the SAT or school work. The result will be surprising,” he said.
Kim, who scored 800 in March 2004 and wishes to study bio-medicine at Columbia University, said not only is math one of his strongest subjects, but math teacher Pat Waddell has been one of his greatest influences during his time at Darlington.
“If she weren’t here, I wouldn’t have been as eager to participate in any activities,” said Kim, a soccer player and member of Math Team, SST, Chess Club, Science Club, German Club, Mu Alpha Theta, International Club, Wind Ensemble and Northwest Georgia Winds.
Fellow Math Team member and soccer player Davis Grizzard also boasted a perfect score after taking the test four times.
“When my parents told me, I said, ‘Finally!’” said Grizzard, who plans to attend the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and major in business management. “I was not surprised because I knew I had the potential since math is my best subject. My favorite classes have been calculus and physics.”
Grizzard said the key to success in school is keeping it interesting and credits Carl Paxton, chairman of the math department, and science teacher Donald Sweeney with teaching courses that are both entertaining and productive.
“Follow your passions,” he said. “Life will be much more enjoyable if you take classes you find interesting.”
Classmate Kelly Hoyt added that it’s always possible to make your subjects interesting.
“Learn to love learning. Develop a passion in a subject or two and connect that subject to your other subjects,” she said.
Alan Luo agreed. “And don’t study just for tests and grades,” he said. “It’s not hard to get a perfect score, you just have to be careful.”
Luo and Hoyt both took SAT classes to help prepare them for the test.
“I took half of a math SAT prep course and half of an English prep course and taught the other half of the English prep course,” said Hoyt. “I also read most of Kaplan’s ‘SAT in a week’ the week before I took them in May.”
Apparently the classes paid off.
“The day I took the test, I called my mom and said, ‘Mom, I don’t think I missed any on the math portion,’” said Hoyt.
She was right.
“My mom was in utter shock when she found out about the 800. She said that she remembered my phone call on the day of the test and remembered thinking ‘Yeah right,’” recalled Hoyt, who plans to pursue a career as a high school math teacher.
“Dr. Bob McGraw has been one of my most influential teachers [during my time at Darlington], because he has helped to further inspire me to pursue higher education and become a teacher,” said Hoyt. “And Mr. Tim Foote, because he has inspired me to conquer the world.”
Other students scoring 800 on the math section were Pinn Chaysiri, Leslie Goldberg and Brian Eberhard.
