What Is a Good ACT Score? Percentiles & Ranges (2026)

TL;DR

A good ACT score depends on your goal. Nationally, a 24 is around the 80th percentile, a 29 is around the 93rd percentile, a 30 is around the 94th percentile, and a 34 is around the 99th percentile. For college admissions, compare your ACT score with each school’s middle 50% ACT range. A score at or above a college’s 75th percentile is generally a strong position relative to that school’s enrolled score-submitters. On the current ACT, the composite is based on English, math, and reading; Science is optional and reported separately.

A good ACT score depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Nationally, a 24 is strong because it sits at about the 80th percentile. A 29 is excellent, around the 93rd percentile. A 30+ is very strong, and a 34+ is elite.

But national percentiles only tell part of the story. For college admissions, a good ACT score is one that falls within or above the middle 50% range for the colleges on your list. If your score lands at or above a school’s 75th percentile, it becomes a genuine strength in your application.

One update many older guides get wrong: the current ACT composite is calculated from English, math, and reading only. Science is now optional and reported separately.

Not sure where you stand? Take a diagnostic and build a personalized ACT prep plan around your target score.

Good ACT Score at a Glance

There are two different ways to judge an ACT score: national percentile and college-specific competitiveness. Use the percentile to understand how your score compares nationally, then use each college’s middle 50% range to determine whether your score is competitive there.

The key point: There is no universal college-admissions cutoff for a “good” ACT score. A 29 can be below the typical range at one highly selective college and above the typical range at another school.

What Is Considered a Good ACT Score?

A good ACT score depends on whether you are comparing yourself with other test-takers, evaluating college admissions competitiveness, or targeting scholarships.

As a general national benchmark:

• 20: above the national average

• 24: around the 80th percentile

• 27: around the 89th percentile

• 29: around the 93rd percentile

• 30: around the 94th percentile

• 32: around the 97th percentile

• 34: around the 99th percentile

For college admissions, however, your target school matters more than the national percentile. A score is most useful when compared with the college's published ACT range for enrolled students or score submitters.

A practical way to interpret your score is:

National percentile tells you how you performed compared with other ACT test-takers. College score ranges tell you how your score compares with students at a particular school.

The national average is useful for context, but it should not be treated as an admissions target.

ACT Score Percentile Chart 2026

An ACT percentile shows how a score compares with the scores of other ACT-tested graduates. The higher the percentile, the higher the score ranks nationally.

The table below uses ACT's published national ranks. Percentiles are useful for understanding the relative strength of a score nationally, but college admissions decisions should be evaluated using the score ranges and policies of individual schools.

Key takeaways: a 24 puts you in the top 20%. A 29 puts you in the top 7%. A 34 puts you in the top 1%.

Use the ACT score predictor to estimate where your abilities fall on this chart and which sections can move your composite fastest.

What Is the Average ACT Score?

The class-of-2025 national average composite was 19.4. Many older guides claim the average is “around 20 to 21.” That was true years ago, but the average has dropped over time, partly because school-day testing programs bring a broader range of students into the pool.

Being above average is a start, not the finish line. A 20 beats the national average but sits at only the 63rd percentile. For most students asking what is a good ACT score, the answer involves aiming well above 20.

What Is a Good ACT Score for College?

The most practical way to evaluate an ACT score for college is to compare it against each school’s middle 50% range. What Does a College's Middle 50% ACT Range Mean?

A college's middle 50% ACT range represents the scores between the 25th and 75th percentiles of the relevant student population reported by the college.

For example, suppose a college reports an ACT range of 28–32:

Being above a college's 75th percentile does not guarantee admission, and being below its 25th percentile does not automatically mean admission is impossible. The range is one piece of the admissions picture.

Practitioners on LinkedIn recommend going deeper than the score range alone. Check Common Data Set section C7 to see how much weight the school gives test scores, and look at what percentage of enrolled students actually submitted. At test-optional schools, published ranges may only reflect students who chose to submit, which can skew the numbers upward.

Context changes everything. A 29 can be excellent nationally and still fall below the middle 50% at a school where most submitters score 34 to 36. That same 29 can be a major strength at a school with a middle 50% range of 23 to 29.

What Is a Good ACT Score for Highly Selective Colleges?

At highly selective colleges, submitted ACT scores are often concentrated in the 30s. For example, Harvard's 2024–2025 Common Data Set reported ACT Composite percentiles of 34 at the 25th percentile, 35 at the 50th percentile, and 36 at the 75th percentile among enrolled students who submitted ACT scores.

This illustrates why a national percentile and a college-specific percentile answer different questions. A 34 is around the 99th percentile nationally, but at a college where the reported ACT range is 34–36, it may sit at the lower end of the school's reported range.

Do not interpret a published ACT range as an admissions cutoff. Colleges consider academic record, course rigor, essays, recommendations, activities, and other factors in addition to standardized test scores.

When discussing a particular college, use that institution's latest official Common Data Set or admissions statistics rather than assuming that one selective college's range applies to all selective colleges.

Is My ACT Score Good? Score-by-Score Answers

Is 20 a good ACT score?

A 20 is above the national average and sits around the 63rd percentile. It can work for less selective colleges but is not strong for competitive admissions.

Is 24 a good ACT score?

Yes. A 24 is around the 80th percentile, placing you in the top 20% nationally. It’s competitive at many colleges. Always compare it against your target schools’ middle 50% ranges.

Is 29 a good ACT score?

Absolutely. A 29 is around the 93rd percentile and is excellent nationally. Practitioners on Reddit consistently point out that a 29 is a very strong score, even though online ACT communities make it seem otherwise because those spaces overrepresent high scorers. Whether 29 is enough depends on your specific college list.

Is 30 a good ACT score?

Yes. A 30 is very strong, around the 94th percentile, and competitive for many selective universities and merit scholarships.

Is 32 a good ACT score?

Yes. A 32 is around the 97th percentile. Very few test-takers score this high.

Is 34 a good ACT score?

Yes. A 34 is elite, at the 99th percentile, and falls within the typical submitted-score range at many highly selective colleges.

If you compare yourself to Reddit or TikTok score posts, remember those spaces are self-selected. Students scoring 33 to 36 are far more likely to post than students with 25s. A 29 is not “bad” by any measure. The real question is always whether your score is strong enough for your specific goals.

Should You Submit Your ACT Score to a Test-Optional College?

The majority of colleges no longer require test scores. Common App reported that only 5% of member institutions required standardized test scores in 2024-2025, down from about 55% in 2019-2020.

A few definitions before digging in:

• Test optional: Scores are not required. If you submit, they’ll be considered.

• Test blind: The college does not consider scores for admissions, even if sent.

• Test flexible: The school may accept other assessments (AP, IB) instead of ACT or SAT.

ACT notes that test-optional policies vary by school, and some test-optional colleges still require scores for scholarships, course placement, or specific programs.

Here’s a practical framework for deciding whether to submit:

One admissions practitioner on LinkedIn, who says she worked at a test-optional college, advises students to submit scores only when they genuinely add something to the application. She recommends checking the Common Data Set for percentile ranges plus the percentage of enrolled students who submitted scores before deciding.

What ACT Score Is Good for Scholarships?

A score that gets you admitted may not be high enough for merit scholarships. ACT research found that 45% of survey respondents took the ACT specifically to use scores for scholarship applications.

Scholarship thresholds vary by state, school, and year. A few current examples:

• Georgia Zell Miller Scholarship: minimum 3.7 GPA plus a 26 ACT or 1200 SAT on a single test date, unless qualifying as valedictorian or salutatorian

• Tennessee HOPE Scholarship: 3.0 GPA or an ACT composite of 21 on a single test date

• Florida Bright Futures: score requirements vary by award level and graduating class

If you are one point below a scholarship cutoff, that single point may matter more than a five-point jump at the top of the scale. Reddit discussions about state scholarships consistently show students retaking the ACT specifically to reach these thresholds, not for admissions purposes. Always verify current requirements directly with the scholarship provider.

Should You Retake the ACT?

ACT data shows that among the 34% of class-of-2025 graduates who took the test two or more times, students improved their Superscore by an average of 2.4 points. That’s enough to cross meaningful admissions or scholarship thresholds.

A Superscore is the average of your highest section scores across multiple test dates. Many colleges accept Superscores, and for the current ACT, the Superscore composite uses English, math, and reading.

Retake if:

• You’re 1 to 3 points below a target college’s median or 75th percentile

• You’re near a scholarship cutoff

• You took the test without preparation or had pacing problems

• One section is clearly dragging down your composite

• Your practice scores are consistently higher than your official score

Don’t automatically retake if:

• Your score already exceeds the 75th percentile at your target schools

• Your score meets scholarship requirements

• The time would be better spent on essays, grades, or applications

For a structured retake approach, this complete ACT study guide covers pacing, section strategy, and study planning.

Take a full-length ACT practice test to check whether your score has room to grow before committing to a retake.

Does ACT Science Count in Your Composite?

This is one of the most common points of confusion, and many older articles get it wrong. On the current enhanced ACT, the composite is the average of English, math, and reading only, rounded to the nearest whole number. Science is optional. If you take it, your science score is reported separately, but it does not factor into the composite.

Writing is also optional and scored on a 2 to 12 scale, separate from the composite. There is no penalty for wrong answers on any section.

Students on Reddit frequently ask whether science still counts, especially when comparing advice from older prep books or guides written before the enhanced ACT format. The answer is straightforward: science does not count toward your composite on the current test.

ACT College Readiness Benchmarks vs. Good ACT Scores

ACT publishes College Readiness Benchmarks, but these measure something different from admissions competitiveness. The benchmarks represent scores tied to a 50% chance of earning a B or higher (and about a 75-80% chance of earning a C or higher) in related first-year college courses:

• English: 18

• Math: 22

• Reading: 22

• Science: 23

• STEM: 26

• ELA: 20

Meeting a benchmark suggests college readiness in that subject, not that your score is competitive for selective admissions. A student can meet the math benchmark at 22 but still need a much higher composite for a target school with a middle 50% range of 30 to 34.

ACT vs. SAT: Should You Switch?

The ACT and SAT use different scales (ACT 1-36, SAT 400-1600), but colleges generally accept either test. The organizations developed official concordance tables so scores can be compared. As a rough example, an ACT 30 corresponds to approximately an SAT 1370.

The better test is whichever one gives you a stronger percentile position relative to your target schools. If you’re deciding between the two, this SAT vs. ACT comparison breaks down format, timing, and content differences. You can also check the ACT-to-SAT conversion chart to compare scores directly.

Final Takeaway

A good ACT score is not one universal number. It’s a match between your score and your goal.

A 24 is good nationally. A 29 is excellent. A 30+ is very strong. A 34+ is elite and relevant for the most selective colleges. The best target for any student is the score that puts them at or above the 75th percentile for the colleges and scholarship programs they actually care about.

The worst approach is chasing someone else’s number. Look up your target schools’ middle 50% ranges, check scholarship cutoffs, and aim for the score that matters for your plan.

Ready to close the gap? Start practicing with the ACT question bank to target the specific skills that will move your composite.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good ACT score in 2026?

Nationally, 24+ is good (80th percentile), 29+ is excellent (93rd percentile), and 30+ is very strong. For a specific college, compare your score with the school’s middle 50% ACT range from its Common Data Set.

What is the average ACT score?

The national average ACT composite for the class of 2025 was 19.4. Scoring above the average is a start, but competitive colleges typically expect scores well above this mark.

What is the highest possible ACT score?

The highest possible ACT composite score is 36.

Can you get a 37 on the ACT?

No. The ACT composite scale runs from 1 to 36. A 37 is not possible.

Does ACT science count in the composite score?

On the current enhanced ACT, the composite is based on English, math, and reading. Science is optional and reported separately if taken. It does not affect the composite.

Should I submit my ACT score to a test-optional college?

Submit if your score is at or above the school’s median or 75th percentile. Consider withholding if it falls below the 25th percentile, unless the school requires scores for scholarships or specific programs.

Should I retake the ACT?

Retake if you’re close to a college or scholarship cutoff. ACT data shows that 2025 retesters improved their Superscore by an average of 2.4 points. If your score already exceeds your target schools’ 75th percentile, your time is better spent elsewhere.

Is a 29 actually a bad ACT score?

No. A 29 is around the 93rd percentile, which is excellent. Online ACT communities overrepresent very high scorers, making strong scores feel inadequate. Whether a 29 is “enough” depends on your specific college and scholarship goals, not on what you see posted online.