First off, did you two study?
Tess: No, but I wouldn’t recommend not studying.

Heya: I did study. I went through several practice books.

On what try did you get the perfect score?
Both: First and only.

Which test did you think was harder, the ACT or the SAT?
Tess: The ACT is harder time-management wise, especially if you are slower at reading comprehension, and the science section was absolute madness. You just have to blast through it and trust your instincts.

Heya: I would say the SAT.

Why do you think you got the score that you did?
Tess: Luck. No, wait, destiny!

Heya: There is some luck involved, especially with the reading comprehension, but I mean, the more you practice the better you get.

How did you feel when you found out you had earned perfect scores? Were you surprised?
Tess: Well actually, the ACT was better about getting out my test scores unlike the College Board–I think I heard back within two weeks– so I didn’t really expect to hear back that quickly and I didn’t really give my score much thought, so I was surprised.

Heya: I wasn’t really surprised, only because I’d done a lot of practice.

How do you go about taking tests? Any tips?
Tess: I treat a test like a puzzle. I enjoy multiple choice tests. It’s all about the process of elimination. For reading passages, I don’t look at the questions first. I just read the passage and try to absorb it, and I try to enjoy it because I find it’s easier to answer questions that way.

Heya: Do practice problems, but the puzzle thing is a smart approach, too. I actually think that sometimes you learn more about the passages from reading the questions.

Would you improve/change the test at all? Why?
Tess: Give us more time! It should be more about what we know and what we can do, not how fast we can do it. In no job, except maybe emergency responders, does time matter that much.

Heya: The essay graders should be more content-focused, as opposed to looking at the first topic sentence, last sentence and then determining the score.

Any advice for future test takers?
Tess: Get a good night’s sleep, distract yourself, do your favorite things the night before, and try not to stress yourself out. Make it less of a horrible necessity that you have to get to and more of a positive experience.

Heya: I like to eat chocolate right before a test, it helps keep my energy up and helps me stay focused. Don’t panic, and skip over the problems that you don’t know.

How did it feel to qualify for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Award, the most prestigious in the country?

Tess: My original thought was that it was a scam, but as I researched it I saw that it was legit, so then I got really excited.

Heya: For me, it wasn’t a surprise because I knew that I would probably get an invitation, but when it came, I was already getting ready for a few other competitions, so my thought was “Oh gosh now I have to deal with this one, too.”