Drawing on the first study of 1600 scorers conducted with the full cooperation of the College Board, here are the 7 secrets to success on the SAT--and in life

  It's every parent's dream: to have a child who scores a 1600 on the SAT. But even at our most conscientious and optimistic, we know the chances must be pretty slim. Sure, we all know kids who've scored in the 1400s and 1500s. But a perfect score? How often does that happen?

Every year roughly 2.3 million high school students take the SAT; of those, however, only 650 students on average achieve a perfect score of 1600. Such a statistic raises obvious questions: Who are these kids? What are they like? And how do they do it?

In a new landmark study, educator and executive recruiter Tom Fischgrund became the first researcher ever granted comprehensive access to these high aca-demic achievers by the College Board, the body that administers the SAT. Weaving together in-depth inter-views with perfect-score students, insights from their parents, and exclusive College Board data, in 1600 Perfect Score he reveals the 7 secrets that separate the cream from the crop.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I: THE PERFECT SCORE NEXT DOOR

What Does It Take to Get a 16007

PART II: THE 7 SECRETS

Secret 1: They're Self-Confident, Self-Effacing, and

   Self-Motivated

Secret 2: They Are Intellectually Curious, and Excited

   About Learning New and Different Things

Secret 3: They Read Quickly and Voraciously, Following

   Their Interests Wherever They Lead

Secret 4: They Develop a Core Group of Passions,

   Pursue Them Eagerly, and Excel Within Them

Secret 5: They're Proactive; They Create Their Own Luck

Secret 6: They Develop a Social Network of Friends

   and Family That Gives Them Critical Support

Secret 7: Their Real Goal Isn't to Ace the SAT--

   but to Succeed in Life

PART III: SCORING 1600:PRACTICAL ADVICE AND

                    LEARNING FOR LIFE

SAT Advice from Perfect Score Students:

What Works, What Doesn't

Frequently Asked Questions About the SAT

Learning for Life

Bibliography