My friend is literally probably top 10 smartest kids in the USA. He got a 1600 on the SAT, a 36 on the ACT, a 1520 on the PSAT, and has a 4.0 GPA. He studies for one night and gets a gold event at a regional event. I don’t understand. What happens to people like me with normal stats (3.8ish and 1550)
Actually 3.8-3.85 not sure (for me)
While that child is clearly smart, the tests have far lower ceilings than they used to, and a few hundred get perfect scores each year . The strongest kids have that and other major accomplishments as well.
Also why would he take both the ACT and SAT after a perfect score on the first?
You will experience concepts more deeply through studying them then through “gifted” status. In your case, however, your SAT cruises in a stratospheric zone, so you should be hesitant in suggesting that your score is typical. Regarding your friend, wish him well in his own promising path, of course.
then → than (#3).
Testing well and being truly smart are two different things. Don’t under-rate “savvy.”
Stop comparing yourself to others. Run your own race.
OP: If you really do, then please tell him to call home.
P.S. Where are the smiley faces when you need them ?
1550 is something to be embarrassed about?
Trying to muster up some sympathy for you…nah, I can’t.
You go on to lead a wildly successful life assuming you make good choices and work hard.
Your world must be very small, if you think you know the smartest kid alive!
And pls don’t equal test/gpa with intelligence or future success.
@Publisher , thanks for thinking of my daughter! But your pronoun is wrong.
There’s a Junior in our HS who has similar perfect standardized test and GPA, first instrument chair in the top local orchestra, gold at last year’s regional science fair, etc.
The student is also on my D’s regional math team and was on the B team for their main competition last year. Competing alongside a 2x IMO Gold Medalist and an IPhO medalist, you come to realize how far the “smartest” are above the ceiling of standardized testing and HS GPA measures.
Perhaps your friend is at that level - who knows - but those metrics don’t fully imply it.
Haha- just for the heck of it maybe? Lol! My son did. Kind of just because…he got a 34, then a 1600 the next weekend. He wanted to see if he could get a 36, so he took the ACT again and did. It wasn’t with the hope it would help him boost his applications even more, it was just his own personal challenge. To each their own, I guess! He certainly doesn’t get it from me. 
It reminds me of a joke I heard a long time ago, maybe Norm Macdonald?
Even if you’re a “one a million person” there’s 6,000 just like you. Back then I guess the planet’s population was 6 billion.
I like the advice of run your own race. I know a lot of smart people who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. Don’t underestimate savvy and determination.