EV Senior Gets 800 On Sat Iis

An East Valley High School senior earned a top 800 score on a section of the SAT that most students never see: the writing section.

David Sunderland took the regular SAT in June, but added three sections of the less well-known SAT II in November.

The SAT II is required by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to which Sunderland is applying.

The extra test results helps MIT and other universities sort through their highly competitive applicants.

Sunderland did well on all the SATs he took. He earned 750 in math and 750 in verbal on the regular SATs. Then, he earned 790 on the SAT II math test and 750 on the SAT II physics, as well as the perfect 800 on the SAT II writing test.

Sunderland said he’s always been a good test-taker.

“I’d like to think I’m lucky,” he said. “No, blessed.”

Along with academics, Sunderland is immersed in debate. That leaves him little time for reading.

“Except in the summer. I never watch television, so that’s when I get a lot of reading done,” Sunderland said.

Sunderland hopes to pursue an engineering career in some type of energy research.