NEW ULM — A Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School student earned the best possible composite score of 36 on her ACT test in October.

Anna Natrakul, 17, a senior this year, earned the mark on her third time taking the test. This time she said that nothing had stuck out to her on the test.

“I figured that could have meant that I did really well or that could have meant that I just did not have the grasp of how hard it was,” Natrakul said.

Natrakul found out while getting ready for school one morning. She checked her score online and was so shocked, she dropped her phone.

For each section she got a 35 on the English portion, 36 for science, 36 for reading and 35 for math.

Not a lot of preparation went into taking the test this time around, aside from maybe some brushing up, Natrakul said.

“I had taken it before this and I got two 35s before this so I was not super worried,” Natrakul said. “I took it again because I wanted to improve my writing score.”

For previous tests she had taken practice tests to get used to how the test works, Natrakul said. She suggests future students get official practice tests and preparation materials from the ACT organizers to prepare.

Now Natrakul is in the middle of applying to colleges. She is applying to as many places as possible but has a few schools she would definitely prefer, she said.

“I guess my dream school would probably be, I love the University of Chicago,” Natrakul said. “It is like an Ivy League, but it is not in the Ivy League. It is just this great school that I visited multiple times and it is nice because it is kind of close to home.”

Along with the University of Chicago, Natrakul’s top three are rounded out with Princeton, N.J., and Duke University, N.C.

Wherever she goes, Natrakul plans to take the pre-medicine track. While that might change once she is enrolled, for now it is her desire to practice medicine, she said.

“I want to go into the medical field,” Natrakul said. “I am not sure what field specifically but I want to be a doctor, which I have wanted to do since like second-grade.”

Connor Cummiskey can be emailed at ccummiskey@nujournal.com.