What Is a Good ACT Score in 2026?

“Is a 24 a good ACT score?” In more than ten years of tutoring, some variation of this question is oneI hear most often from parents.

The ACT runs from 1 to 36, and somewhere on that scale is a number your student is trying to make sense of. Is it good enough? For which schools? Does it change what they should do next?

The problem with the question “what is a good ACT score?” is that it doesn’t have a universal answer. A 24 can be a real achievement for one student and a missed target for another. What makes a score good or not depends on three things: where your student is applying, whether any meaningful scholarship thresholds are within reach, and whether there’s a realistic path to improvement worth pursuing.

This guide starts with the national numbers (the latest percentiles and the average), then works through each of those three questions by score range, with specific examples you can look up and verify for your own student’s list.

If you’re still deciding whether the ACT is even the right test, the SAT vs. ACT comparison is worth reading first. If you want the full breakdown of how the enhanced ACT is structured and scored, the Enhanced ACT 2026 guide covers that in detail. This post assumes the ACT is already in play and focuses on what to do with the score once you have one.

How to Actually Read Your ACT Score

The ACT produces up to four section scores (English, Math, Reading, and the optional Science), each on a 1 to 36 scale. The Composite is the average of the three core sections: English, Math, and Reading. That single number is what colleges and scholarship programs focus on, and it is what this guide uses throughout. Students who take Science also receive a STEM score, which combines their Math and Science results.

One frame that changes how families think about scores: the middle 50% range. Most four-year colleges publish, as part of their annual Common Data Set, the 25th and 75th percentile ACT scores of their enrolled first-year students. If your student’s score falls above the 75th percentile for a given school, the ACT is an asset in that application. If it falls below the 25th percentile, it’s a flag worth addressing.

The score itself matters less than where it sits relative to the specific schools on your student’s list, and looking up those numbers takes about five minutes per school. The College Board’s BigFuture college search tool is a practical starting point for finding schools by selectivity and ACT range.

For students who want to compare their ACT score to an SAT equivalent, the SAT-ACT conversion chart has the full concordance table.

What Is the Average ACT Score?

The national average ACT Composite was 19.4 for the Class of 2025, based on roughly 1.4 million graduates who took the test (ACT’s Class of 2025 report). That figure was unchanged from the year before, after several years of gradual decline.

One detail most families miss: the average and the middle aren’t the same thing. On ACT’s current percentile chart, an 18 sits at the 52nd percentile, which puts the national median at about 18, slightly below the average. A student scoring 19 or 20 has already outscored more than half of recent test-takers.

Section averages follow the same pattern. Across recent graduates, the average English score is about 18.4, Math 19.0, Reading 20.0, and Science 19.5.

A score above average does not automatically make a student competitive at selective schools, but it can absolutely unlock meaningful scholarship money at the right institutions. The key phrase there is “the right institutions,” and we will get to that.

ACT Score Percentiles for 2026–27

In September 2026, ACT updated its percentiles, which it calls “national ranks.” These are the numbers printed on score reports for tests taken from September 2026 through August 2027, based on ACT-tested graduates of 2024, 2025, and 2026.

A percentile tells you the share of test-takers who scored at or below your student’s score. A Composite of 26 is at the 86th percentile, for example, meaning 86% of recent test-takers scored 26 or lower.

Source: ACT national ranks for 2026–27. Science and STEM percentiles are listed on the same page.

Notice how quickly the percentiles climb in the low-to-mid 20s. Moving from a 20 to a 24 jumps a student from the 63rd to the 80th percentile, which is part of why a few points in that range can change both admissions and scholarship outcomes.

Score Ranges: What Each Band Actually Means

The answer to “what is a good ACT score?” looks different at every score level. The sections below work through each band with the same three questions: what percentile does it represent, which schools is it competitive for, and where does scholarship money become available.

Is a Score Below 18 Good Enough for College?

A score below 18 falls below the national median: a 17 lands at about the 47th percentile, and a 15 at about the 34th. It is not a disqualifying number at many four-year colleges, but it does narrow the field meaningfully, and it is the range where additional prep produces the most return on investment. Students here tend to have specific, identifiable gaps rather than broadly weak preparation, which means targeted work on the highest-leverage content areas can move the needle faster than at higher score levels.

For college fit, the Common Data Set research still applies. A number of solid four-year institutions have a 25th percentile ACT in the 16 to 18 range, meaning a student in that band is within the typical range of enrolled students at those schools. The honest conversation at this level is usually less about whether to retake and more about how much runway the student has before application deadlines and what a realistic improvement target looks like given that timeline.

Two options are worth raising seriously at this score level that don’t come up as often at higher ranges. The first is whether the SAT might be a better fit. Some students who struggle with the ACT’s pacing and longer reading passages find that the SAT’s format, with short passages and one question per passage, plays more to their strengths. A student who has only ever taken the ACT doesn’t actually know how they perform on the SAT, and a single diagnostic practice test can answer that question quickly. The SAT vs. ACT comparison walks through which test tends to suit which type of student.

The second is whether test-optional schools deserve a closer look. The test-optional movement has held at a large number of colleges since the pandemic, and for students with strong GPAs and a compelling record outside of standardized tests, applying without a score is a legitimate strategy at many institutions. That said, test-optional is not test-blind, and submitting a score below a school’s 25th percentile can work against an application.

The rule of thumb most college counselors use: if a score is below the 25th percentile at a given school, it is usually better not to submit it there. The Common Data Set will tell you exactly where that line is for any school on your student’s list.

Automatic merit aid is limited below 18 at most universities, and the more important financial consideration at this score level is often need-based aid alongside institutional grants, since automatic merit programs generally start in the low 20s. If a student is close to a published threshold at a school they are seriously considering, that specific gap is worth targeting.

Is an 18 a Good ACT Score? (18 to 21)

This range spans roughly the 52nd to 68th percentile nationally. An 18 sits right around the national median; by 21, a student has outscored about two-thirds of test-takers. That’s worth saying plainly, because families often underestimate an 18 or 20 after reading about elite admissions cutoffs and forgetting that most colleges are not elite.

For college fit, a score in this band makes a student a realistic applicant at a wide range of four-year institutions, including many strong regional public universities where the middle 50% ACT range starts at or near 18 to 20. Looking up the Common Data Set for any school on your student’s list will tell you exactly where their score lands relative to that school’s enrolled class. At schools where the 25th percentile is around 18, a score of 20 puts your student solidly within the competitive range.

On the scholarship side, this is the range where automatic merit programs start to open up and every point or two can translate into real annual dollars. At Texas State University, a 21 ACT paired with a top-25% class rank qualifies for the Texas State Distinguished Scholarship, worth $4,000 per year.

Deadlines matter here too. For students entering in fall 2027, MTSU needs a qualifying score on file by December 1, 2026. If a school on your student’s list has a merit threshold just above their current score, there is a specific dollar amount attached to the gap, which makes the retake decision much easier to think through than chasing an abstract number.

Is a 22 a Good ACT Score? (22 to 25)

This range sits roughly at the 72nd to 83rd percentile. It’s a meaningfully above-average score that opens up a genuine range of four-year institutions, including many regional flagships where a 22 to 24 puts a student at or above the median of enrolled students.

This is the range where doing the Common Data Set research pays off most. Students in this band often discover that their score is already above the 75th ACT score percentile at several schools on their list, which flips the conversation from “should we retake?” to “which schools should we be looking at more seriously?” A score of 24 might be below the 25th percentile at one school and well above the 75th percentile at another. Both schools might be on the same list. Knowing which is which changes the strategy entirely.

On the scholarship front, this is where automatic merit programs at larger state universities become more accessible. The University of Oklahoma is a useful example because its awards differ so much by residency. For out-of-state students entering in fall 2026 (the most recent grid OU has published), the Merit Award provides $10,000 per year for an ACT of 24 to 25 and a 3.5 GPA. Oklahoma residents qualify for the Academic Achievement award, $2,000 per year, with an ACT of 24 to 27 and a 3.25 GPA. For families outside Oklahoma, the out-of-state column is the one to read.

Middle Tennessee State University’s Freshman Guaranteed Scholarships are another clear illustration: the True Blue Scholarship starts at $3,500 per year for students with an ACT of 22 to 24 and a 3.5 GPA.

Is a 26 a Good ACT Score? (26 to 29)

Is a 26 a good ACT score? By most measures, yes. A 26 sits at the 86th percentile, meaning it beats roughly six out of every seven test-takers, and the 26 to 29 range runs from the 86th to the 93rd percentile. In SAT terms, a 26 is roughly equivalent to a 1240 (the SAT-ACT conversion chart has the full table). Scores in this range make a student competitive at many schools in the top 100 nationally and above the median enrolled student at a large number of selective public universities.

At this level, the Common Data Set research becomes especially clarifying because the answer varies so much by school. A 28 sits above the 75th percentile at many solid state universities and below the 25th percentile at highly selective schools. Knowing exactly where 28 lands for each school on a student’s list is more actionable than any general benchmark, and it takes the guesswork out of decisions like whether to retake or where to focus application energy.

Scholarship programs in this range expand meaningfully. For out-of-state students, OU’s Academic Achievement award provides $12,000 per year for an ACT of 26 to 27 and a 3.5 GPA, and its Distinguished Scholar award rises to $15,000 per year for an ACT of 29 to 30 (Oklahoma residents receive $3,000 per year at that level). MTSU’s Presidential Scholarship awards $4,500 per year for an ACT of 25 to 29 with a 3.5 GPA. These are illustrative, not exhaustive. Many schools in this tier publish merit grids worth checking individually.

The retake question at this level is genuinely contextual. A student with a 27 whose whole target list has a 75th percentile ACT under 29 is probably in good shape. A student with a 27 aiming for schools where the median score is 32 or above may have reason to try again, not because 27 is a bad score, but because the gap matters for that specific application pool.

Is a 30 a Good ACT Score? (30 to 33)

Scores in this range land around the 94th to 98th percentile. At many schools ranked in the top 100, a 30 puts a student at or above the 75th percentile, which is the point where a test score shifts from a mild positive to a genuine application asset.

Checking the middle 50% for schools at this level still matters, and the differences can be large. A 32 sits well above the 75th percentile at most public flagships and below the 25th percentile at schools like MIT or Caltech. The Common Data Set research is just as important here as at lower score levels; it just clarifies which specific schools the score is competitive for rather than whether it’s competitive at all.

Automatic merit programs at this level become more generous. MTSU’s Trustee Scholarship awards $5,000 per year for an ACT of 30 to 33 with a 3.5 GPA. OU’s out-of-state Award of Excellence provides $17,000 per year for an ACT of 31 or higher and a 3.5 GPA. Texas State University’s President’s Honor Scholarship awards $12,000 per year starting at an ACT of 32 for students in the top 25% of their graduating class.

This is also where competitive scholarships come into reach. Unlike the automatic awards above, these require a separate application and often an interview. The University of Kentucky’s Otis A. Singletary Scholarship, which covers full in-state tuition plus a housing and dining stipend for the first two years on campus, requires at least a 33 ACT and a 3.80 unweighted GPA just to be considered.

Is a 34 a Good ACT Score? (34 and Above)

A 34 ACT puts a student at roughly the 99th percentile; only about 1% of test-takers score a 35 or 36. This is clearly an excellent score, competitive for highly selective schools and well above the median at the vast majority of four-year universities in the country.

For students in this range, the Common Data Set research still matters, but the relevant question changes. Rather than asking whether a score is competitive for a given school, the question becomes whether submitting it strengthens or weakens the application at a highly selective school where the median score is 35 or above. For most of the list, a 34 is a genuine asset. At a small number of reaches, it may be at or below the median of enrolled students, which is a meaningful distinction at schools that still pay close attention to test scores.

At this score level, a student qualifies for every automatic award listed above, plus the top tier of guaranteed programs. MTSU’s Centennial Scholarship, the university’s top guaranteed freshman award, provides $8,000 per year for an ACT of 34 to 36 with a 3.5 GPA.

The honest question for students already at 34 or above is not whether this is a good score. It is whether another round of prep and another test date would produce improvement meaningful enough to change any specific outcome. For many students the answer is no. The students who benefit most from retesting at this level are those targeting a specific highly selective school where the 75th percentile ACT is at 35 or 36 and who have a genuine diagnostic reason to think they can close that gap.

What Is a Good ACT Score for Each Section?

Families also ask about individual section scores, especially Math. ACT publishes College Readiness Benchmarks: the section score at which a student has about a 50% chance of earning a B or higher in a related first-year college course.

For a college-bound student, a benchmark is the floor rather than a target. At selective schools, section scores tend to track the Composite, so a student aiming for a 30 Composite generally needs section scores near 30 across the board. For students applying to engineering or other STEM programs, it’s worth checking how the Math score compares to the Composite, since some programs look at it closely.

Because Science is now optional and doesn’t count toward the Composite, whether to take it depends on the schools on your student’s list. The Enhanced ACT 2026 guide walks through that decision.

What Is a Good ACT Score? Common Questions

Finding the Right Target for Your Student

The most useful thing a family can do with any ACT score is put it in context against a real college list. The College Board’s BigFuture college search tool is a practical place to start, since you can search by selectivity and ACT range. From there, pulling up the Common Data Set for each school gives you the middle 50% ACT range for enrolled first-year students (it’s in section C9 of the report), the most concrete benchmark available. A quick search for “[school name] Common Data Set” will find it for almost any college.

If your student also has an SAT score, the same approach applies. What Is a Good SAT Score in 2026? walks through it on the SAT’s scale.

The pattern that comes up consistently: students who do this research are often either better positioned or differently positioned than they assumed going in. A student who thought a 24 wasn’t competitive often finds it is above the median at several schools they’d genuinely want to attend. A student who thought a 30 was safe for a particular reach school sometimes discovers it falls below the 25th percentile there. The score doesn’t change, but understanding where it sits changes what you do next.

If you’re working through that process and want an outside perspective on what the numbers mean for your student’s specific situation, that is exactly what a diagnostic consultation is designed to address. Book a free consultation and we can look at the score, the list, and what makes sense next. If a retake is worth it, we’ll build a plan around the specific content gaps holding the score back, so your student walks into the next test date calm, prepared, and in control. You can also read more about how I approach one-on-one ACT prep on my ACT services page.

About Tutoring by Matt

Matt Altonji is the founder of Tutoring by Matt. If you’re looking for practical, no-nonsense strategies to help your student master the SAT, ACT, biology, chemistry, or math, you’re in the right place. Matt comes prepared to sessions with over ten years of experience tutoring students and a proven track record of success, happy students, and grateful parents. He is an active member of the National Test Prep Association (NTPA) and The Association of Test Preparation, Admissions, and Private Tutoring (TPAPT) and has received his bachelor’s in Neuroscience from Colgate University and a master’s in Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship from Johns Hopkins University. A lifelong resident of the Northeast, Matt grew up in New Jersey and currently resides in Philadelphia, PA.