Photo courtesy of Ryan Maine

Senior Christina Wang stands with Chemistry teacher Garrett Lim.

Senior Christina Wang achieved a remarkable milestone in the STEM and Advanced Placement (AP) community by earning a perfect score on the AP Chemistry exam, a feat accomplished only by 23 out of 141,000 Advanced Placement Chemistry participants. 

Securing a flawless score on the AP Chemistry exam is extremely difficult as only 0.02% of test takers have been able to score at that level. 

Wang credits her achievement to the preparation provided by her chemistry teacher, Garrett Lim. With 18 years of teaching experience, Lim prepared his AP Chemistry students with multiple review sessions as well as a mock exam modeled after the actual AP test. 

“I was actually pretty surprised because compared to doing the mock [exam], I wasn’t as confident [during] the actual exam,” Wang said. “Taking the actual exam is obviously more stressful than the mock since it’s official. The mock was just like Mr. Lim’s test, so I think I felt more comfortable taking his test.”

Before the start of the school year, Wang’s attempt to register for the AP Chemistry class created a conflict with her other science class, AP Physics 1. After numerous talks with her GLC, her double science schedule was approved by the dean. 

“Although it was a last-minute class, I had been trying very hard to get that class, so I was very excited and happy when I got my schedule in the morning of the first day of school,” Wang said. “I didn’t worry and knew how the class was going to be [good] since I know Mr. Lim is a very good teacher from being in his honors class.”

Wang’s exam result was met with enthusiasm from her teacher; this is the first time Lim had a student score perfectly on the exam. 

“I think part of it is that she’s naturally talented in it and also, she has a really good work ethic. She has really worked hard at understanding the material,” Lim said. “She was always engaged in class and was one of the few people that when I would ask a question she would respond.”

A combination of Wang’s work ethic and Lim’s AP preparations contributed to Wang’s score.   

“I didn’t cram before the exam, which I encourage everyone not to cram because staying active throughout the year is very beneficial,” Wang said. “I’m just very thankful for my GLC, Ms. Alegre, Mr. Lim and the school.”