What is a good ACT score, you ask? The answer, as is often the case, is complicated. What might be good enough for one school will earn you a rejection at another. As a general rule of thumb, prospective applicants should look at admitted students’ academic profiles at their dream schools. What’s the middle 50% of ACT scores at your dream school? If you’re having trouble locating this information, check out the school’s Common Data Set, which is the federally mandated report of institutional data, including test scores of admitted students.

For example, here is what Harvard University’s most recent Common Data Set lists as the middle 50% of ACT scores for the 22% of enrolled students who submitted ACT scores, as well as the score range:

	25th Percentile Score	50th Percentile Score	75th Percentile Score
ACT Composite	34	35	36
ACT Math	33	35	36
ACT English	35	35	36
ACT Reading	34	35	36
ACT Science	33	35	36

ACT Composite Score Range
30-36	99.44%
24-29	0.56%
18-23	0%
12-17	0%
6-11	0%
Below 6	0%

This data should, of course, be taken with a grain of salt. Harvard represents the most extreme end of high academic criteria for admission. Not every school can boast that well over a quarter of applicants who submitted the ACT got a perfect score. And not all applicants who took the ACT necessarily submitted it — many likely opted to submit their SAT scores instead. But still, the middle 50% of scores provides a benchmark for anyone wondering if their scores are competitive. 

If you want to get into a highly selective school, your ACT should ideally be at or above the median score. In Harvard’s case, you had better have a 35 or higher if you want to have the highest chance of admission. And if your score is below 30, forget about it!

What About Test-Optional Schools?

While many schools opted for test-optional policies as the pandemic took its toll on educational normalcy, these schools are now reversing this decision in droves. Test-optional policies cause influxes of “squeakers,” which is Ivy Coach’s term for the students who try to sneak into a school for which they are not qualified by taking advantage of test-optional policies. Unfortunately, most of these enterprising students failed to get in!

In other words, test-optional is a load of malarkey. The students who submit scores will always be at an advantage over those who don’t. Those who don’t submit scores seem like they have something to hide! You’re much better off giving the ACT or the SAT your best shot and submitting your scores than trying to squeak in without a score. Really, these schools just want to drive up their yield by getting squeakers who they have no intention of admitting to apply! It’s a numbers game — don’t fall for it!

Do Colleges Value the ACT and SAT Equally?

Let’s face it: the average high school senior in America is far more likely to have an SAT score than an ACT score. But colleges value these two tests equally. And while we’re at it, all colleges will superscore your SAT, which means they will combine the highest individual section scores you obtained from different sittings. However, college-bound students should note that not all schools superscore the ACT. Most do, but you should double-check your target school’s policy before signing up for that second ACT sitting!

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Standardized Test Prep

Ivy Coach’s very own Dr. Fran Bigman, a standardized test tutor with over 20 years of experience coaching students into elite college acceptance, would be happy to begin working with your child to help them achieve the highest ACT or SAT scores possible. To get started, fill out our complimentary consultation form and we’ll be in touch.