North Hollywood High 3-Peats With Scholars

For the third straight year, North Hollywood High School has produced the No. 1 Advanced Placement scholar in the nation.

But that’s not all. The school also said it has the top 11th-grade AP scholar as well as two 1999 graduates who ranked in the top 10.

Alumna Diana Hong, currently a first-year student at the University of Pennsylvania studying in a prestigious, joint-degree international studies and business program, earned the top honor by scoring a 4 or higher on 20 AP exams.

Hong’s honor did not surprise Frank Pinkus, western regional director for undergraduate admissions at Penn. He said Hong, who also earned a perfect SAT score, was one of 40 students nationwide selected for the program. About 700 applied.

“Diana is a top student,” he said Friday.

Administered by the College Board, AP tests are given in a variety of subjects, allowing students who score a 3, 4 or 5 to earn college credit. To become one of the nation’s estimated 1,400 AP scholars, students must earn a minimum score of four on at least eight AP exams.

Alumni Grace Lee and David Yau, both students at Stanford University, earned the No. 2 and No. 6 spots, respectively, while North Hollywood High senior Tyler Rubin was the top 11th-grade AP scholar.

“When I first heard that I won, I said, ‘Oh,’ ” said Rubin, 17, of Encino, who began taking AP tests in the eighth grade. “I had no idea they gave out such an award. Once they told me about it, I said, ‘Oh!’

So far, Rubin has taken 13 AP exams in subjects such as calculus, chemistry, physics, music theory and European history.

“I like taking AP tests because it’s a good way to measure my progress,” he said.

Although AP scholars receive no monetary awards, Rubin said he hopes the distinction will help him get into Harvard, Stanford or Princeton next fall.

“I’m not overly confident,” said Rubin, who has an almost-perfect grade-point average and a perfect SAT score of 1,600. “I would like to have my pick of schools but I know a lot of students here who don’t get into Harvard.”

North Hollywood High’s AP scholars are part of the school’s highly gifted magnet program, which includes 244 students who have IQs of 145 or higher.

AP coordinator Susan Bonoff said magnet and nonmagnet students study together and push each other to excel on AP tests. Last spring, the school gave about 1,300 AP exams to 550 students.

“It’s impressive,” said Bonoff, explaining that many of the students, particularly those in the highly gifted magnet program, are unassuming about their accomplishments. “A lot of these students have always gone to school with high-ability students, so their reality is a little skewed.”

Rubin agreed. “I’m not as impressed with myself as other people,” he said. “I tend to always look ahead at would I could be doing.”

He’s looking toward mid-October, the deadline for an early-admission application to Harvard, where he would like to major in physics.