What’s A Good ACT® Score? (Updated 2019)

Did you just get your ACT® score back and are wondering what score you need to get in the school of your choice? Take a look at the charts below as we break down different ranges of scores and list colleges for each range. Worried your score isn’t good enough? Don’t fret! We here at SupertutorTV have you covered! We offer our own online act® prep course, The Best ACT® Prep Course Ever, that boasts over 100+ hours of video content to make sure you get the prep for need! Looking for something FREE? Check out our very own Youtube channel where we have tips, tricks, hacks, and everything else to give you the upper hand on the ACT®.

The data in the charts below come from what is available in the common data set, a voluntary list of information that most colleges and universities in the U.S. provide that explains the data from their most recently admitted freshman class. We’ve calculated the average composite score by taking the 25th percentiles and 75th percentiles and averaging them. Additionally, we’ve reported the 25th-75th percentiles to highlight the center 50 percent, score-wise, of all the students that they admitted to their college. We’ve also reported the math and English scores in our tables but the science and reading scores are not given in the common data sets.

Average Score: (19-22 Average Score) 

In the 2018-2019 school year, ACT.org has reported that the 51st percentile on the ACT® is now a 20. That doesn’t mean if you score below a 20 that you can’t go to college at all. For schools that are requiring you submit an ACT® score, a 17 is usually the lowest they’ll really consider. The NCAA Clearinghouse’s “low-end” is a 17 in every section, a score you must absolutely have if you want to be an NCAA athlete. Schools in this range are regional colleges and local state universities.

Good Score: (23-26 Average Score)

A ‘Good’ ACT® score is a score that is going to get you into more recognizable state universities. An important thing to remember is that we’re looking at the average scores, meaning universities have admitted students with scores higher and lower in the past. Another thing to note is the range in the average scores and how it may shrink as you start looking at more competitive universities. A higher score, particularly in this range of scores, can give you more opportunity when it comes to honors programs or scholarships.

Very Good Score: (27-29 Average Score)

In the ‘Very Good’ score range, you will begin to qualify for some scholarships for some schools that might be in the lower tiers. Some more of the big name universities will begin to appear in this range.

Great Score: (30-32 Average Score)

Inevitably, this is where the shift is coming. There are schools on this list that weren’t on this list a couple of years ago because there is this upwards trend at a lot of these universities in terms of where their scores are landing. Be mindful as we start to get into these more of these competitive colleges that the average score listed may not be enough for specific majors or programs within the universities.

Awesome Score: (33-35 Average Score)

This tier includes top-10 schools along with some top-20 schools, indicating that test scores are really valued at those universities. At these top-20 schools, you may get away with having little extra-circulars or a not as high GPA if your tests scores are really high. The interesting thing to note here is that schools that are ranked higher and have low admission rates don’t necessarily have a higher test requirement, demonstrating that they take other factors into consideration when admitting students.

(*) – 2017-2018 Information