Garrett Andrews is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Portland Community College where he teaches State and Local Government.
Garrett Andrews Education WriterGarrett Andrews is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Portland Community College where he teaches State and Local Government.
Written By Garrett Andrews Education WriterGarrett Andrews is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Portland Community College where he teaches State and Local Government.
Garrett Andrews Education WriterGarrett Andrews is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Portland Community College where he teaches State and Local Government.
Education Writer Veronica Beagle Managing EditorVeronica Beagle is the managing editor for Education at Forbes Advisor. She completed her master’s in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Before coming to Forbes Advisor she worked on education related content at HigherEducation.com and Re.
Veronica Beagle Managing EditorVeronica Beagle is the managing editor for Education at Forbes Advisor. She completed her master’s in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Before coming to Forbes Advisor she worked on education related content at HigherEducation.com and Re.
Veronica Beagle Managing EditorVeronica Beagle is the managing editor for Education at Forbes Advisor. She completed her master’s in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Before coming to Forbes Advisor she worked on education related content at HigherEducation.com and Re.
Veronica Beagle Managing EditorVeronica Beagle is the managing editor for Education at Forbes Advisor. She completed her master’s in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Before coming to Forbes Advisor she worked on education related content at HigherEducation.com and Re.
Updated: Nov 6, 2023, 3:35pm
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Competition for seats in higher ed is fierce—and it’s only getting fiercer, as college admission boards are seeing more and more applicants each year.
While many colleges no longer require applicants to submit standardized test scores from exams like the ACT® and the SAT® to be considered for admission, submitting strong scores voluntarily can still increase your chances of getting into your top-choice school. A good ACT score can make a big difference—especially if you’re hoping to make up for a lower GPA.
If you can improve your ACT score by even a couple of points, you could get a big leg up over other applicants. Read on to learn what an average ACT score is, plus information on how the ACT is scored, how an average is compiled and how you might stack up against the competition.
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The ACT covers four academic areas: English, math, reading and science. Each section of the exam is scored on a scale of 1 to 36. Test takers also receive a composite score averaging the four section scores, plus a STEM score, which combines the science and math sections.
According to data released by ACT, you’d have to achieve the following scores to rank in the 90th percentile of tested high school grads from 2021 to 2023:
A “good” score is subjective because it depends on which colleges you want to get into. For example, Ivy League schools are highly selective and tend to admit students with ACT composite scores 33 to 35, as reported by the College Board. Other highly selective institutions have comparable standards, like Boston University (31 to 34) and the University of Chicago (34 to 35).
But admission to an Ivy with a sub-30 ACT score is certainly possible. For example, 12% of Yale University’s class of 2024 had ACT scores between 27 and 31; however, less than 1% scored below 27. (Yale University suspended its standardized testing requirement during the Covid-19 pandemic and has not yet resumed it as of October 2023.)
As a general rule, the higher you score, the more options you have. A high score can also open you to more merit scholarship opportunities. Essentially, a good ACT score is one that helps get you where you want to go in life.
The average composite ACT score for the U.S. graduating class of 2023 was 19.5, as reported by ACT. Connecticut and Massachusetts tied for the highest average ACT composite score at 26.4.
ACT scores have been dropping around the country as a result of shifting demographics, a trend accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
If you score close to the average, you have good odds of meeting many schools’ standards, though probably not at highly selective universities.
More than half of students who retake the ACT improve their composite score. Around one-quarter see a decrease in their composite score, and 20% get the same result, according to ACT.
While Harvard does not require ACT scores, students admitted to the university typically score very high on the exam. The composite range for first-year students is 34 to 36, while 75 percent of all new students scored at least a 33. In a 2021 first-year student survey, The Harvard Crimson averaged ACT scores for several student groups. Student athletes had the lowest average, at 31.8.
Few colleges today require an ACT or SAT score, if you took the ACT and scored poorly, you can choose to apply to a test-optional college without submitting your score. If you’re not sure whether you scored poorly for a given school, you can research online to find the median ACT score of admitted students for that school, and see how your score compares.
A score of 35 is within the average range for first-year students at Ivy League institutions. However, a high ACT score alone probably won’t be enough to get in. Applicants who gain admission to these schools tend to have 4.0 GPAs (or higher), killer essays, glowing recommendations and plenty of accolades to separate their applications from the rest of the stack.
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Education WriterGarrett Andrews is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Portland Community College where he teaches State and Local Government.
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