Who is Ashrit Talluri? Indian-origin 14-year-old scores perfect 1600 on SAT

Dubai A 14-year-old Indian-origin student in the US has scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT — years before most students his age would normally consider taking the college admissions test.

Ashrit Talluri, a ninth-grader from Fulton County in Georgia, achieved the maximum possible score when he took the SAT in June, scoring a perfect 800 in both Math and Reading and Writing.

And even though he had already scored 1600 on three practice tests, seeing the same number on the real result still came as a shock.

“When I saw that 1600, you know, I had to wipe my eyes a couple of times,” Ashrit told FOX 5 Atlanta.

Ashrit comes from a Telugu family with roots in Tenali in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district. His parents, Taruni and Ramanaresh, moved to the United States in 2008 and settled in Georgia, according to Telugu media reports.

His remarkable academic journey had begun well before his SAT success.

While still in middle school, Ashrit completed 14½ high-school credits and attended college-level summer programmes at Harvard and Rice universities.

It was his father and middle-school counsellor who encouraged him to attempt the SAT.

Ashrit registered for the test in January and spent the next five months preparing. He worked with a tutor, watched YouTube videos and other online study material and completed more than two dozen practice tests.

By the time the real examination arrived, he had already hit the magic 1600 three times in practice.

But that did not eliminate the nerves.

Ashrit said he was particularly anxious during the Reading and Writing section of the actual examination.

“I took a lot of deep breaths and I just stayed calm,” he told FOX 5, saying he worked through the questions without rushing.

Then came another test of patience. His family had to wait several weeks while the unusually high score underwent verification.

The result eventually confirmed it: 1600 out of 1600.

Ashrit is now a ninth-grade student at Innovation Academy in Fulton County, where he is simultaneously taking two college-level courses through dual enrolment.

His interests extend well beyond the classroom.

He plays chess, has an interest in aviation and participates in hackathons around metropolitan Atlanta. His public profile also lists interests in artificial intelligence, computer science, medicine and research.

And rather than putting the SAT behind him after achieving the highest possible score, Ashrit is now using what he learnt to help others.

He spends some of his free time writing SAT practice questions and exploring different test-taking strategies for other students.

“I really want to help the community just like how someone helped me,” he told FOX 5.

Ashrit hopes eventually to become a neurosurgeon, combining his interests in medicine, neuroscience and technology.

His public profile also reflects a strong interest in applying artificial intelligence to healthcare and other real-world problems.

For now, though, he remains a 14-year-old ninth-grader balancing school, college-level coursework, chess, technology and other interests.

The SAT, at least, presents him with an unusual problem: after scoring 1600 on his first official attempt, there is simply nowhere higher to go.