Cecilia Cody achieved perfection.
Perhaps even more impressive – she called her shot.
Well, sort of.
The Destrehan High School junior landed a perfect score of 1520 on the PSAT, an achievement claimed by less than one percent of students, on average, who take the test.
The perfect score was the target for Cody. A year prior, she took the test as a sophomore and scored 1500, including a perfect score in math. But a sophomore’s PSAT test run is primarily used as practice and to familiarize themselves with the test format, while a junior’s PSAT score can significantly impact their chances of qualifying for the National Merit Scholarship, as only the junior year score is considered for that program.
Naturally, Cody wanted to take a step forward her second time. She also had a different goal in mind.
“I made a deal before the test with my mom,” said Cody. “I really wanted my hair done and I usually have to pay for that, so I asked her if I get a 1520 will you pay for me to get my hair done?” Cody said. “She said sure.
“So when I (learned the score), the first thing I said was, ‘I need to call my mom to book my appointment.’”
The timing was impeccable: the scores were released just days before DHS’ Homecoming.
Cody said the accomplishment hasn’t necessarily sunk in yet.
“Not really at all … I felt like I spent so long preparing for it,” she said. “From taking it last year as well, it was about two years of prep time, so it feels really nice to get that score.”
And even though she was ready to land that hair appointment, she was very excited and proud to share the news on its own merit with her parents.
“I was on the phone with my mom and I was screaming a lot,” Cody said. “They were both really excited for me.”
Cody’s preparation began with The Princeton Review’s test preparation books – also part of her process when readying for the ACT – and with them the practice tests that come included.
“There are four to six of them, and I keep taking those tests,” Cody said.
After hitting such a high score in her first run, Cody was contacted with a request to tutor others for the PSAT – in fact she became certified in PSAT tutoring, and that process was a big part of raising her English score, she believes.
Another critical piece to the puzzle – knowing how to use the tools at your disposal, specifically the calculator. Cody’s TI-84 Plus graphics calculator can help unlock those answers quickly, but knowing the ins and outs of how to use it for each situation can dramatically improve one’s test taking speed.
“If you know how to use it, that’s the key to the math section,” Cody said.
For English, she said she learned to go with her gut and trust her preparation.
“I used to second guess my answers and that hurt me,” Cody said. “Now, I go with my first instinct before going back to reread them at the end.”
She was ready to take the test, but Cody keeps a busy schedule at Destrehan, where she’s involved in numerous activities. She’s a member of the Desty Darlings dance team, the Student Council, the Student Advisory Council, Superintendent’s Council, Wildcat Ambassadors, Mathletes, the National Honor Society, National English Honor Society and she’s the secretary for the Spanish Honor Society.
Cody also plans to stay quite busy following her time as a Destrehan student. She plans to study neuroscience in college on the way to becoming a neurosurgeon.
“I want to specialize in oncology and remove people’s brain tumors,” said Cody, who said this was something she has had her mind set on for several years. “I’ve always been really interested in it … for a long time, it was brain or heart surgery. Those two things interested me the most.”
She turned her attention to the former after her time taking AP Psychology.
“I became really interested in how the brain works and how much fits into such a little area, and controls everything. So, that really got me interested in that. That … and Grey’s Anatomy.”
