Florida teenager gets perfect SAT score, says he 'freaked out'

LARGO, Fla. (FOX 13) - Largo High School junior Jacob Harrison had a goal. He wanted to score 1550 when he sat down to take the SAT for the first time last December.

"I was just trying to focus, but I kept getting distracted," he said.

He felt confident walking away from the test, but nothing could have prepared him when he saw his results days later: 1600, it said.

"I was shocked, I showed my friend because I was walking to school," said Jacob. "We both kind of freaked out for a second and then ran to class."

"I was very confused because I thought he was joking," said his mother, Sheri Harrison. "I thought he was teasing me. When I saw the 1600 and realized his name was on his College Board account and saw his name on it, I realized it was true."

Less than 1% of the 1.7 million students who take the standardized test every year score a perfect 1600. He's the first student in Pinellas county to earn a perfect SAT score since 2013.

Jacob didn't miss a single question on either the math or reading and writing portions of the SAT.

"In some ways, he'll say sometimes that it was luck," said Harrison. "He got the questions that he could figure out right."

Jacob studied for the SAT and took practice tests to prepare for it. He did this in between all of his extracurricular activities, which includes the math honor society, the Science Olympiad team, and the wrestling and swimming teams. He's also started his own business with a friend, tutoring other students.

"There's a lot of attention with getting 1600, but you know, I'm just kind of moving on from it, and focusing on other things in my life," he said.

Today, he's focused on getting ready for this weekend's state math competition.

That 1600 on the SAT was a goal accomplished, but there's so much more Jacob wants to do. He hopes to study statistics after he graduates next year.