Bob Jones Academy Senior Scores Perfect ACT

Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn the top score.

But now, you can a local Bob Jones Academy senior to the list.

Elliot Lovegrove found out recently that he scored a composite score of 36 on a recent ACT test.

Among test takers in the high school graduating class of 2012, only 781 of more than 1.66 million students earned a composite score of 36. That makes Lovegrove's score even more impressive.

"I was pretty excited," Lovegrove said during a phone interview. "I wasn't expecting this at all."

Lovegrove said that he had taken ACT practice tests just to see how the test would go. He said the practice tests also helped him to understand what the different sections of the test would be like and what to expect. 

The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1-36, and a student's composite score is the average of the four test scores.

"It was a little stressful," Lovegrove said. "You always want to do well and with the time factor involved, you want to make sure you finish all the parts of the test."

Lovegrove said that he was taking a summer school class the week that he went to take the ACT. He said already being in a "study" mode, helped him focus on the test.

Lovegrove, son of Dr. Bill and Mrs. Jocelyn Lovegrove of Greenville. After graduating from Bob Jones Academy, he hopes to continue his studies at Bob Jones University as a studio art major. 

Lovegrove participates in the BJA Orchestra and the Young Artist Orchestra, which is part of Greenville County Youth Orchestra. He is active in forensics and serves on staff of the Triangle, the school's student newspaper, and Academian, the school's yearbook. He will serve as co-editor of the Academian this fall. Earlier this year, Lovegrove won BJA's concerto competition, and performed "Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor" with the BJA Orchestra during a spring concert.

Lovegrove also is an active member of Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville.