One better. That is the score Blue Springs High School senior Kaitlin July was looking to achieve in her fourth and final try at the ACT test. One better than her brother, Matt, who also graduated from BSHS and is currently attending Truman State University.

It was just one little point, but one that would put Kaitlin in very elite company. Kaitlin, who previously scored 33, 35 and 34 on her first three tries at the ACT nailed down a perfect score of 36 this year, making her only the second student in recent BSHS history to reach the hallowed mark. It also gave Kaitlin some bragging rights over Matt, who scored 35 on the test.

"That was the one phone call I didn’t want to make, telling him about it – I let my mom do it," Kaitlin said with a laugh. "Actually, he was really supportive and told me he was so happy for me."

Kaitlin began tutoring other students this year about steps to take in preparation for the ACT. She was very happy with her previous best of 35, but she just couldn’t put off that feeling of going for just one more point. "Just talking to the other students and going over ways to prepare for the test, I thought why not try it one more time?" she said. "When I scored 35 my junior year, I came home that day after taking it knowing that I did terrible – I really thought I blew it."

Kaitlin felt she did pretty well in her last try at the ACT, but when the results came, her mother told her that she scored a 34. "And I was OK with that," Kaitlin said. "But then she said, ‘plus two more points’ and I knew that I had done it. I was pretty nervous before the test, but I just relaxed and tried to do the best I could."

Kaitlin also followed a bit of her own advice, the tips that she had given to students in her tutoring sessions. She said one of the biggest challenges for students taking the ACT is time management. "There are a lot of quick little things that you can do to help yourself, but knowing what to look for in the reading section and how to process things quickly is what really helps," she said. "One thing that helped me a lot was taking the practice tests. The cliff notes version was one of the hardest; it really helped me prepare."

As Kaitlin wraps up her final semester of her senior year, she is also preparing for life in college. She will attend Truman State and plans to major in Health Sciences with an emphasis on pre-med. "This year has been so busy, but I’m looking forward to all the graduation activities and I’ve got plenty of things to keep me busy," Kaitlin said. "I’m really excited about college and the challenges that will bring."