Skyline student earns a perfect score on ACT

A first-rate problem solver hopes she has one conundrum licked: getting into the college of her dreams.

Skyline High junior Zoe Howe, whose team last year won the international Future Problem Solving competition, scored a perfect 36 on this spring's ACT.

She's the only Utah student, and one of 31 in the country, to ace the college entrance test, ACT reports. Some 10,000 Utah students and 436,000 nationwide took the April 3 exam.

ACT boss Richard L. Ferguson says Howe's performance should open a wide range of college possibilities. But sorry, Utah: Howe's looking to further her education outside the Beehive State, perhaps somewhere in the Northwest or Midwest.

"I'm trying to get out of state if I can. I already know about Utah," Howe said, and she's ready to try something different.She is looking at Whitman College, Washington University in St. Louis and others to visit over the summer.

Now, she says, "I'm looking for a good scholarship."

That shouldn't be too hard to find.

The daughter of Doug and Charlotte Howe delves into academics.

An avid reader whose tastes range from "Pride and Prejudice" to "Harry Potter," Howe's schedule is packed with tough classes. The 4.0 student has taken advanced placement calculus, art history and European history, French 4, honors biology and English classes. She's also on Skyline's yearbook staff and enjoys playing tennis, basketball and the piano in her spare time.

"She's just an excellent student," said Skyline counselor Diane Nelson, who was thrilled with news of Howe's ACT score.

Howe also is involved in Future Problem Solving, a program she jumped into in elementary school. It took her to international competition in the sixth grade. While her junior high and high schools don't offer the program, Howe and most of the same teammates have continued with Howe's mother as the coach.

The competitions require extensive research about a variety of topics, from immigration to organ donation. Students then are posed with a scenario and must come up with the best solution.

Perhaps such hard work gave the 17-year-old Howe an edge — that, and being lucky enough to sit in her own math class desk — on test day. While she brought home an ACT review book, she opened it just once.

Relationships also have helped: "Our group of friends is focused on school, and we study together," Howe said. "We're all focused on academics."

Howe hopes to become a doctor, or lawyer, or "something where I can do research, and that requires a lot of school," she said. "I like school."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com