The ACT is one of the most popular standardized tests in the country, and its scores are used by colleges and universities to determine whether you are eligible for admission. Once you receive your scores, you may be wondering how you compared to everyone else who took the ACT.

ACT percentile rankings are based on a calculation that compares a student’s score to the scores of all other students who have taken the test. A student with a 99th percentile rank scored higher than 99% of all other test-takers, placing them in the top 1%. A student with a 1st percentile rank scored higher than only 1% of test-takers, meaning 99% of test-takers scored higher than them.

For example, let’s say you scored a 19 (a 19.4 is the national average) on your ACT. That typically means you did better than 57% of test-takers. A score of 28 would be better than 91% of all test-takers.

The chart below is a good visual to compare ACT Score National Ranks.

Other Factors

As a reminder, your ACT score and national rank are a piece of what colleges are looking at when you apply. Each college will be different and there are other factors as well such as GPA, challenging high school curriculum, extra-curriculars, leadership skills, well-written & thoughtful essays, demonstrated interest, letters of recommendation, etc. Get Smarter Prep has tutors available to help guide you through the process. Learn more about our College Counseling.

College Examples

Not every student needs to score in the 30’s. Let’s say you are interested in attending University of Kansas. KU has an acceptance rate of 88%. Students that get into KU have an average ACT score of 21-28, which is between 68%-91%. Now let’s take a look at Northwestern University in Illinois. Their acceptance rate is 7% and students have an average ACT score of 34-35, which is in the 99% of the ACT National Percentages.

How to Prepare

Regardless of where you are in the ACT Score National Ranks, we are here to help. Get Smarter Prep offers one-on-one, Private Tutorials, and our in-person ACT Prep Course, for every ACT test date. Prepare now. Look at your course load, your extra-curriculars and see when you can best fit in ACT prep. We can help you choose the right test date for you and help you put your best foot forward.