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Average ACT Sco...

Exams Know-how

Average ACT Score: What is ACT Score Range?

Q: Why is an average ACT score essential?

The average ACT score is significant because it allows universities and schools to compare your results to those of other applicants.

Q: Does a good ACT ranking ensure admission?

Your ACT score is one of the factors to getting admission, but no, your admission does not solely depend on your ACT scores. Colleges look at your high school GPA, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation from teachers, and the subjects you took in high school, in addition to your ACT scores. But yes, the higher the ACT scores, the higher the chances of being accepted by more universities.

Q: Why is the writing ACT average measured differently?

It is because most colleges don't require the ACT writing test. After all, they believe the General ACT is enough to determine an applicant's knowledge and understanding of issues. And because the rest of the ACT exam is a multiple-choice-based exam except the ACT writing section, in which the candidate is required to write an essay.

Kashyap Matani

Aug 27, 2024

16.5k views

ACT is a multiple-choice exam used in the United States for graduate admissions at universities and colleges. If you want to graduate from an American university, you must take the ACT exam. Science, Mathematics, English, and Reading are the four sections of the ACT exam; the fifth subject, Writing, is optional. The ACT exam, which is akin to an admission exam, is a method of assessing a student's abilities methodically. Colleges and universities use the test as part of the admittance process to determine eligibility for enrollment.

In order to kickstart your preparation, you must also be aware of what's the average act score along with its syllabus and exam pattern. This is what this blog is all about. Here we dwell at length on the ACT score range and the average ACT score for top universities abroad.

Table of Contents

What’s the Average ACT Score?
Do Average ACT Scores Matter?
Section-wise breakdown of Average ACT Score
Average ACT Scores by State
Average ACT Scores for Colleges

What’s the Average ACT Score?

The performance of students who wrote the paper on the same day is determined by the average ACT score. For each subject area, the ACT is graded on a scale of 1 to 36. Students do not lose points for incorrect answers; instead, they receive no score for them and receive scores for correct ones. The maximum ACT score is 36. The ACT exam is graded on a scale of 36 points for each section.

The ACT composite score is calculated by adding the scores from all four sections: Science, Mathematics, English, and Reading. The current average ACT Score is 20.6. Percentile scoring describes a test participant's results compared to all other examinees on that day, and the ACT score range, based on a percentile system, is 1-36 score points.

Suggested: How to Calculate ACT Scores?

Do Average ACT Scores Matter?

The ACT ranking compares your ACT score to that of other examinees. The percentage indicates the percentage of examinees who scored better or equivalent to you. For instance, if you get a 75% on the ACT, it implies you did better than 75% of other examinees.

The percentile evaluations are important because it enables universities and schools to compare your scores to those of other candidates. The ACT score, on the other hand, changes based on the college to which one wishes to apply, and so is more important than the ranking.

The average ACT score is roughly 20.8, therefore you'll be in the middle percentile if you achieve 21-23 points. Because a score of 23 is over the national average, it will make you a prime candidate for prominent schools. However, your score may exclude you from a few prestigious universities and schools. A 24+ score does distinguish you from other examinees. However, to get into universities like Princeton, one may require a much better score.

Suggested: Colleges Accepting ACT Scores

Section-wise breakdown of Average ACT Score

The ACT exam is graded on a scale of 36 points for each section, which is also the maximum ACT score. The overall average ACT score is 20.6. But now, let’s further break down the average ACT test score according to different sections of the ACT exam.

Section Averages	Average Score
Average English ACT Score	19.9
Average Maths ACT Score	20.2
Average Reading ACT Score	21.2
Average Science ACT Score	20.6

Let's talk about the fifth, optional subject, Writing, now that we've covered the areas that are mandatory for the ACT exam. Your result in the writing section does not influence your composite score.

The ACT writing score range is 2-12. The ACT Writing Exam has a 6.5 average score. A score of 8 or above is preferred by extremely selective institutions. Scores of 10, 11, and 12 stand out and demonstrate strong writing abilities.

College and university universities act independently regarding whether to require the ACT writing exam scores for admittance or not.

Suggested: Colleges Accepting low ACT Scores

Average ACT Scores by State

Due to low testing participation rates, several states' composite averages fall above or below this national norm. States that mandate that all students take the ACT have relatively low averages than states that do not. This’s logical because, in states where the exam is not obligatory, only the smart kids attempt it. This distorts the averages of these states.

Here is a list of states and their ACT state averages:

State	ACT Average
Alabama	18.7
Alaska	20.6
Arizona	19.8
Arkansas	19
California	26.1
Colorado	23.6
Connecticut	27.2
Delaware	25.7
District of Columbia	25.6
Florida	20.4
Georgia	22.6
Hawaii	18.2
Idaho	23
Illinois	25.2
Indiana	23.1
Iowa	21.5
Kansas	19.9
Kentucky	19.2
Louisiana	18.4
Maine	25.6
Maryland	25.2
Massachusetts	27.6
Michigan	25.1
Minnesota	21.6
Mississippi	18.1
Missouri	20.6
Montana	20.4
Nebraska	19.9
Nevada	17.8
New Hampshire	26.6
New Jersey	25.1
New Mexico	20.7
New York	26.3
North Carolina	18.8
North Dakota	19.6
Ohio	19.6
Oklahoma	19.7
Oregon	20.6
Pennsylvania	25
Rhode Island	25.8
South Carolina	18.6
South Dakota	21.6
Tennessee	19.1
Texas	20.1
Utah	20.6
Vermont	24.7
Virginia	25.5
Washington	23.6
West Virginia	20.8
Wisconsin	20
Wyoming	19.7

The number of participants who take the test in a given state is a significant aspect if one wants to compare state averages.

Now let’s take a look at what average ACT score a student requires to achieve to get into their dream college/university:

Suggested: ACT Exam Pattern and Syllabus

Average ACT Scores for Colleges

When it comes to accepting new students, colleges use the ACT exam results as a yardstick. To be accepted into college, most universities have a minimum acceptable score that students must earn.

These requirements change from one school to the next and from one state to the next.

University	25th percentile	75th percentile
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	33	35
Stanford University	31	35
Harvard University	32	35
University of California-Berkeley	30	34
University of California-Los Angeles	28	33
Yale University	31	35
The University of Texas at Austin	26	32
Cornell University	30	34
California Institute of Technology	34	35
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	30	33
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	26	31
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	29	33
University of Southern California	30	33
Dartmouth College	30	34
Duke University	31	34
Johns Hopkins University	32	34
Princeton University	32	35
University of Pennsylvania	31	34
Carnegie Mellon University	31	34
Texas A & M University-College Station	25	30
Ohio State University-Main Campus	27	31
Northwestern University	31	34
Williams College	31	34
University of Chicago	32	35
University of California-San Diego	28	33
North Carolina State University at Raleigh	26	31
Rice University	32	35
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	25	29
Brown University	31	34
Vanderbilt University	32	35
University of Virginia-Main Campus	29	33
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	28	33
Emory University	29	33
University of Notre Dame	32	34
University of Washington-Seattle Campus	26	31
Georgetown University	30	34
Brandeis University	29	32
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	26	31
New York University	29	32
Tufts University	30	33
University of California-Irvine	24	29

Suggested: Everything About ACT Score and Result

A decent ACT score is an important pre-requisite for the college or university you wish to attend. To get into top-ranked universities abroad you should strive for a score of above 30. For any guidance and assistance, get in touch with our counselors at Yocket now!

Frequently Asked Questions: ACT Average Score