Short answer: A 24 on the ACT puts a student around the 80th percentile nationally, a 28 lands near the 91st percentile, and a 30 sits around the 94th. The national average composite is about 19.4, so anything above 21 is already ahead of most test-takers, while the most selective universities are typically looking for scores in the 33-36 range.
Key takeaways
- The national average ACT composite is roughly 19.4, with a standard deviation of about 6 points.
- A score of 24 or higher puts a student in the top 20% of test-takers nationally.
- Only around 6% of students score 30 or above, and fewer than 1 in 1,000 score a perfect 36.
- Most students who retake the ACT with a real change in prep improve by a few points, not a fraction of a point.
How ACT percentiles work
Your ACT composite score is an average of four section scores, each on a 1-36 scale. The percentile tied to that score tells you what share of test-takers you scored at or above. A 24, for example, means a student scored as well as or better than roughly 80% of everyone who took the test that year.
Percentiles shift slightly year to year as the test-taking population changes, but the broad shape stays consistent: scores cluster tightly around the high teens and low twenties, then thin out fast as you move into the high twenties and thirties.
2026 ACT score percentile table
| ACT Score | Approx. Percentile | ACT Score | Approx. Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 100th | 22 | 72nd |
| 34-35 | 99th | 21 | 68th |
| 33 | 98th | 20 | 63rd |
| 32 | 97th | 19 | 57th |
| 31 | 96th | 18 | 52nd |
| 30 | 94th | 17 | 46th |
| 29 | 92nd | 16 | 40th |
| 28 | 91st | 15 | 34th |
| 27 | 88th | 14 | 27th |
| 26 | 86th | 13 | 20th |
| 24-25 | 80-83rd | 11-12 | 5-12th |
| 23 | 76th | 10 | 2nd |
A quick way to read this: every point in the mid-20s to low-30s range is worth several percentile points, which is exactly the range where most competitive scholarship cutoffs sit.
What these ranges mean for college applications
Context matters more than the raw number. A 27 is an excellent score for most four-year universities, a strong one for flagship state schools, and still below the typical range for the most selective handful of programs in the country. Rough bands worth knowing:
- 21+ is above the national average and workable for most public universities.
- 24+ puts a student in the top 20% nationally and competitive for strong state flagships.
- 28+ is in the top 10% and opens up merit scholarship conversations at most schools.
- 33+ is where the most selective national universities typically expect applicants to land.
How much a retake can realistically move the needle
Most students who retake the ACT see some improvement, and the gain is usually larger when something real changes in the prep between attempts, not just the act of sitting for the test again. A typical, well-prepared retake moves a composite by a few points rather than a fraction of one. Closing a 2-point gap often takes six to eight weeks of focused prep; closing a 5-point gap is more realistically a 12-to-16-week project.
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