Marian Central Catholic High School senior earns perfect ACT score

WOODSTOCK – Jacob Fiedler, a 17-year-old senior at Marian Central Catholic High School, took the ACT in September aiming for a perfect composite score.

“It’s always a bit challenging because when you’re trying to go for a perfect score, even a couple of small mistakes can ruin your chances of that, so it’s a very nerve-wracking experience,” Fiedler said.

After taking the test his freshman and sophomore years, he took the test again in the fall and earned a perfect composite score of 36.

“I never like to be too confident, so I assumed I was going to get a 35 again,” Fiedler said. “But I was really happy to see I got a perfect score.”

With this accomplishment, Fiedler is waiting to hear back from several universities he’s applied to. Although he has applied to about 14 places so far, he said his ideal choice would be the University of Chicago, where he’d like to double major in math and physics.

“I’ve really always enjoyed the study of math,” Fiedler said. “It’s completely unique because it’s the language of all of reality, and I think it’s interesting that human beings are able to comprehend that. So I’d like to advance in the study of mathematics.”

Fiedler has been taking math courses online from the University of Illinois since his sophomore year at Marian because he ran out of high school math courses his freshman year.

When he’s not studying, working on homework or getting a perfect score on the ACT, Fiedler’s hobbies include playing video games, such as “Halo,” and composing music.

“I have some software on my computer, and I’ll just occasionally write various songs that are typically more classical in nature,” Fiedler said.