What Act Score Is Needed For College

Use The Right Materials

You wouldn’t train for baseball with a Wiffle ball, just as you shouldn’t train for the ACT with subpar materials.

High-quality test-prep questions are a must for preparing you for the ACT and breaking down the skills and content you need to master within each section. These include official practice tests, prep books, and websites. For more tips on prepping for the ACT, check out our free ebook that’s full of up-to-date, expert information.

In addition, ACT Questions of the Day are an easy and convenient way to add some extra test prep. These can be accessed online or on your phone. By starting months ahead of the test, ACT QOTD will familiarize you with a variety of problems and help you figure out what types of questions, if any, need extra attention.

How To Determine Your College Act Requirements

When preparing for the ACT, you should have a target score. Your target score can influence your studying, test-taking strategies, and motivate you to keep improving your ACT skills. Here’s how to determine your ACT target score.

Make a list of the schools you’re interested in applying to. The average of their 75th percentile ACT scores will be your target score. Your section target scores should match your composite target.

However, if you’re applying to an engineering or science program, your math and science scores can be slightly higher. Similarly, if you’re applying to a humanities program, your reading and English scores can be slightly higher. For more thorough information about ACT target scores, check out the post on what’s a good ACT score.

Prep For The Act And Take It Again

If at first you dont succeed, try, try again! If you still have a few months left before your college application deadlines, taking the ACT again is probably your best option.

You might try out a targeted, personalized ACT program, some ACT prep books, and/or tutoring. Check out our guide to see all the pros and cons of these ACT prep methods.

Also Check: Financial Aid Calculator Berkeley

How The Writing Test Is Scored

Two checkers will read and result each students ACT Writing test essay based on four domains:

• Ideas and Analysis
• Organization

• Language Use and Conventions

A students ACT English, Reading and Writing scores are scaled to create a students combined English Language Arts score. Choosing to take the ACT Writing test does not impact students composite score or subject area scores, but without the Writing test score, no ELA score will be reported.

Related Topic:How ACT Reviewers And Guides Help You Boost Your ACT Score

Nursing & Engineering Requirements

Gonzaga’s Nursing and Engineering programs are considered direct admission and students must declare either major on the Common Application to be considered for one of the programs.

Nursing

Gonzaga’s Nursing Program accepts first-year applications only. Applicants must choose “Nursing” on their application to be considered. Admission to nursing is competitive and the Admission Committee will review curriculum carefully and likes to see math and science in the senior year of high school. An understanding of the nursing profession is helpful.

Students are not permitted to change their major to nursing after enrolling at the University. The Nursing Program is a four-year program. If a student has received college credit or earned an AA degree through the Running Start program, credits will likely transfer, but the program remains an 8 9 semester degree. Enrolling with college credits may provide students with the opportunity to add a minor or study abroad, but will not allow for early entry into nursing courses.

Engineering

SAT and ACT Policy

Gonzaga University admission is test optional, meaning it is not required to submit an SAT or ACT score. There are two important notes on this policy:

• Homeschooled students with less than 30 semester or 45 quarter college credits must submit an SAT or ACT.
• International students are required to submit a test score to demonstrate English proficiency through TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, iTEP, SAT, or ACT.

Home-School Policy

Read Also: Colleges That Accept 2.0 Gpa List

College Options For Students With Low Sat Or Act Scores

If your scores are below the average range, it doesn’t mean you can’t get into the colleges you desire you just have to have other strong qualifications, like a solid transcript and high GPA. When you start your college search, try to find a college that offers test-optional admissions or doesnt place a high emphasis on standardized test scores.

If you are applying to a community college program, planning to attend a career college or considering a distance learning program that offers online degrees, you will probably not need high SAT or ACT scores. Most of these schools do not look at standardized test scores when making admissions decisions.

However, you should still take the SAT or ACT, as the tests can be used to determine placement in math and English courses. Plus, taking these tests now allows you the option of transferring to a 4-year college or university and pursuing additional degrees later, if you choose.

Act Result Percentiles For 2021

If students result reports falls on the 75th percentile , that means they have a right result. This means students scored better than 75 percent of the test-takers. But if students result reports are lower than the 25th percentile average ACT result, then that means their result is poor and need to take steps to improve it, whether by taking ACT review classes or working on ACT practice tests.

Note that your basis for what a good score is should be based on your desired college or universitys ACT result.

Look into the ACT result of the students who got into the college or university of their choice. UCLA, for example, has an ACT result of 29. If you want to get into UCLA, you must need to have an ACT result of 29 or higher to improve your chances of getting accepted.

We have ACT Prep Test that you can use: ACT English Practice Tests

Recommended Reading: How Many College Credits Do You Need

How Can I See My Scores

When available, your scores are posted online and accessed using your MyACT account.

ACT Customer Support cannot provide your scores by phone, email, chat, or fax.

• Multiple choice scores are normally available two weeks after each national test date, but it can sometimes take up to eight weeks.
• Writing scores are normally available about two weeks afteryour multiple-choice scores.

If you took the writing test, your overall scores are not officially reported until your writing scores have been added. Viewingyour scores online does not speed up reporting.

Regarding the October and February test dates only: Scores from these test dates are available within 3-8 weeks. During these test dates, ACT performs equating activities in order to ensure that scores reported have a constant meaning across all test forms.

Practice To Act Quickly

Just like the ACT, the SAT has an optional Essay section. Without the Essay section, the SAT is three hours long. With the Essay section, the SAT is almost four hours long three hours plus 50 minutes.

On the other hand, the ACT is two hours and 55 minutes long without the optional Writing section. With the Writing section, an additional time of 40 minutes is given to the test-taker, bringing the ACT to three hours and 34 minutes.

Because the ACT is quicker than the SAT, many test-takers feel that the ACT is the harder of the two standardized exams.

Because its shorter than the SAT, its a must that you act quickly while taking the ACT.

As a general rule of thumb, you should finish one ACT section five to ten minutes before the next section starts. This way, you have enough time to go back to the questions you are unsure about and determine whether you should stick to your answer or choose a different one.

Taking the ACT practice test over and over again can help you solve each question faster and faster, thus allowing you to finish every ACT section quicker and quicker.

To help you finish an ACT section five to ten minutes before the time ends, as suggested earlier, spend no more than 30 seconds on each question. If after 30 seconds you still have no idea of how you will answer it, mark it. Go back to it after you have answered all of the remaining questions.

Read Also: How To Get Noticed By College Football Scouts

What College Or University Has The Highest Average Act Score

There are many colleges and universities with extremely high ACT test scores, but the three colleges with the highest average ACT scores of 33 and 35 in the 25th & 75th percentiles respectively are:

• Johns Hopkins University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Rice University

Many other private universities boast impressive ACT test scores as well. For instance, the average ACT score for Harvard is 35 while the average ACT score for Stanford is 35 as well.

Your Guide To A Good Act Score For 2021

A perfect score on the ACT is 36.

Most students assume that because 36 is the highest possible ACT score , its a good ACT score.

Yet while a 36 will definitely add a competitive edge to an application, anything less than a 36 isnt necessarily a bad ACT score.

In fact, it all comes down to how you define a good ACT score. We have 2 definitions for this.

Read Also: How Many Majors Are There In College

What Is A Good Act Score

The highest possible score on the ACT is 36. The current average ACT score is 21.

A “good” ACT score depends on the colleges and universities you are considering. A score of 23 on the ACT is above the current national average and will make you a strong applicant at many universities, but it may fall below the average score for accepted students at more selective colleges. The higher your ACT score, the more options are open to you. Read on to learn more about ACT scores.

How Ncaa Considers Your Act Scores

As you read above, NCAA adds your section scores from English, Math, Reading, and Science into a sum score. For example, if you got a scaled score of 20 on all four sections, your sum score would be 80 .

If you take the ACT more than once, NCAA will take your best section scores from any dates. In other words, NCAA will mix and match your highest section scores to get your highest possible ACT sum score.

Now, let’s move on to the really important part: how NCAA compares your GPA with your ACT score.

You May Like: Cape Fear Community College Housing

Good Act Score #: The College Competitive Act Score

Of course, scoring above-average on the ACT is just one interpretation of what it means to do well on the test.

In the context of college entrance, one students good ACT score could be vastly different than another students. It just comes down to where you are applying and the average ACT scores of admitted applicants.

So, we like to say that, under this definition, a good ACT score is the one that is right for you given your college aspirations. This will probably be close to the ACT scores of admitted applicants.

Plenty of universities specify ACT score ranges of successful applicants on their websites .

Most do so by specifying the Middle 50, or the 25th and 75th percentile of accepted students ACT scores.

Heres a sampling of the Middle 50s from various elite institutions:

Source: The National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS

Weve compiled the Middle 50s of ACT score ranges of successful applicants to the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities, which you can download right now.

The Common Data Set

If the colleges on your list do not specify these score ranges on their websites, you can check out the Common Data Set.

The Common Data Set initiative is an effort to give clear, relevant information to everyone involved in the college admissions process about universitiesinstitutional priorities.

What are institutional priorities? These refer to what a college cares about when its admitting an incoming class.

Act And Sat Information For Freshman Admission

Freshman applicants for Fall 2022 admission are not required to submit an ACT or SAT test score. This policy change was made to ensure every student has the opportunity to submit a complete application this year.

Whether or not you choose to have your ACT/SAT score considered as part of your application, your application will:

• Receive full consideration for admission, scholarships, and our University Honors Program.
• Be read in its entirety during our individual review process.

On your application, you will indicate whether you would like an ACT/SAT score considered in the review of your application. Once you submit your application, your decision is final and cannot be amended, with the exception for test access or cancellation circumstances. An applicant who originally indicated the intent to submit a test score, but can no longer take the exam and therefore can not complete their application, can request to change their original answer to this question by completing an amendment form.

Also Check: How To Get College Discount On Apple Music

What Is The Average Act Score

The average ACT score is 20.8. That means if students score range between a 20 and 21 on the ACT test this will put students right in the middle of the pack. Students result will be higher than 50% of other test takers but also lower than the other 50% of test-takers.

Visit our Free ACT Practice Test 2021 Full Length Practice Questions with Explanation

The Office Of Admission Carefully Considers The Following Items As Part Of The Application To Gonzaga University:

• Curriculum and school
• Grade point average and grade trends
• College essay
• SAT or ACT scores

* Please see the Admission COVID-19 FAQ for additional information on our admission policy

*Learn about admission process, English proficiency requirements, and test score policies for international students here.

*Consideration of Disciplinary and Criminal Conviction in Gonzaga University Admission: Gonzaga University considers the factors listed above when reviewing undergraduate applications for admission. Gonzaga University does ask whether an applicant has a school disciplinary record or criminal history. An applicant will not automatically or unreasonably be denied admission due to criminal history or disciplinary action. However, additional information may be requested to provide greater context to the nature and timing of violations prior to an admission decision being made.

Recommended Reading: Is Fsaid.ed.gov Legit

Average Scores By State

This chart shows the latest data for average ACT scores by state. An important thing to note is the percentage of students who take the test in a particular state. If its a state where the ACT is mandated for all high school juniors, the overall scores might be lower since everyone takes the ACT. In some other states, students may only take the ACT if they are planning to use their scores as part of a college application process, or students in a particular state may primarily take the SAT instead.

Want to compare your states scores with another state ? The most accurate comparisons will exist between states that have similar percentages of students taking the ACT each year.

What Is The National Average Act Score

According to the ACT National Profile Report, 1.67 million students nationally took the ACT test in 2020. This figure is slightly down from prior years, but the nationwide average scores are similar to prior years.

The ACT National Profit Report states that the national average ACT scores in 2020 were:

Read Also: What Colleges Should I Look At

Act Score Range For The Top 100 Us Universities

If youre wondering about the relative value of the SAT vs. ACT in Ivy League admissions, our ACT expert, Kristin, does a great job of explaining that in this video:

Final word? Remember that when applying to the Ivies, its important for your whole application to, well, sparkle.

If youre scoring slightly below the middle 50% for your dream Ivy , its worth putting in the time to pull it up. Maximize those chances!

Act Scores: Everything You Need To Know In 2021

The test is done. Your sharpened pencils are dull , and your granola bar has long been eaten. Now the wait begins until you get your ACT scores.

But once you get your scores back, what do they mean?

We all know the importance of a high ACT score, but it can be helpful to understand how the scoring works so you can prepare your best and increase your overall score.

Also Check: What Size Are College Dorm Beds

When Will Your Act Result Be Available

How long do students have to wait to get their ACT resut? Not too long, actually. These results vary in release depending on various factors. However, for most students, availability of their ACT result comes in approximately 10 days after they have taken their test.

Since the ACT test is given on a Saturday, score reports for it tend to be accessible on a Tuesday or Thursday following 10 waiting days, typically at 1am Eastern time, or midnight at Western time or 10 pm Pacific time.

If within this time period, students scores havent been released yet, check for it on a weekly basis. All scores should normally be available within 8 weeks after the test. Scores are usually provided in two instalments, but colleges will not receive your result report for the ACT test if all scores have not been released and finalized .

With students ACT result report ready, ACT, Inc. will then grant access to their official Student Score Report, their High School Score Report, and students College Score Report. Take note that a majority of test-takers will tend to receive their scores after 10 days of taking the ACT test, while a small number of them will access the same after one or a few weeks of waiting after the designated release date.

The following list will guide you about the 2021 ACT test dates along with their ACT Score Release Dates:

Visit our website to learn more review materials: ACT Science Practice Tests