Vietnamese teen earns perfect SAT score

Hoang Vuong Lam Bach, an 11th grader at Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, took the exam on March 11 and got the result Friday – 800 for Math and 800 for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.

Bach is one of a few examinees worldwide to get a perfect SAT score.

According to the College Board, an American nonprofit organization that administers the SATs (Scholastic Assessment Test), only 8% of Asian examiners scored 1400 and above last year, while those scoring 1480 and above were among the 1% top scorers in the world.

“I could not believe it,” Bach said after receiving his scores.

“I was very scared in the exam room because it was my first time taking the SAT,” he said.

Bach said he prepared for the test from December last year. He once scored 1590 in a mock test but was not confident with the real test as it was computer-based and had some differences compared to his paper-based lessons. The test duration was 134 minutes instead of 180 minutes and the question structure of the Reading and Writing was also different.

Bach plans to apply to several U.S. universities to study chemical engineering.