ACT Scores for Scholarships

By Muntasir Aug 07, 2026 6 min read

TL;DR

There is no single ACT score for scholarships: each college and state program sets its own cutoff on the 1-36 Composite scale, so you have to check the number for every school on your list. ACT groups Composite scores by college type, with 18 to 20 widely accepted at open-admission colleges, 20 to 23 competitive at mid-tier colleges, 24 to 28 strong at selective colleges, and 30 to 36 aimed at top-tier schools. A 24 Composite ranks at the 80th percentile nationally, and a 28 ranks at the 91st. Academic scholarships ask for higher scores than awards based on activities, athletics, or need. Many scholarship deadlines fall in February or March, so plan retakes early.

Your ACT Composite score plays a direct role in merit scholarship decisions at many colleges. ACT does not set one national cutoff for scholarship eligibility. Each college and state program builds its own rules, so the same score meets one school's requirement and misses another's. Scholarship committees sort applicants by score range, then weigh grades, essays, and activities on top.

This guide covers the score tiers ACT publishes, where your Composite sits against national percentile ranks, and how superscoring fits into scholarship review. It also covers deadline timing for retakes and where to confirm exact score requirements for the schools on your list. Treat every range here as a starting point, then verify the cutoff on each college's financial aid page.

The ACT Composite Score Scale

The ACT Composite score is reported on a 1-36 scale. Colleges and scholarship programs compare this single number across every applicant. The Composite comes from an average of your English, Math, and Reading scores, rounded to the nearest whole number. Science is an optional section and is not part of the Composite, so a strong Science result does not lift the number scholarship programs read. The table below shows which sections count.

Subject	Counted in Composite
English	Yes
Math	Yes
Reading	Yes
Science	No, optional section

How Composite Scores Affect Scholarship Consideration

ACT states test scores are a big factor in merit scholarships and awards based on academic achievement. Academic scholarships usually require a higher score than awards based on extracurriculars, athletics, or financial need, according to ACT. Your target depends on the type of award and the selectivity of the school. ACT publishes Composite bands tied to college type, and those bands give you a working target before you check individual programs. The table below lists them.

Composite range	College type
18-20	Many colleges
20-23	Mid-tier colleges
24-28	Selective colleges
30-36	Top-tier schools

ACT describes 18 to 20 as widely accepted at regional and open-admission colleges, 20 to 23 as competitive at many mid-tier colleges, and 24 to 28 as a strong score for more selective colleges and universities. Scores of 30 and above sit in the top-tier band, where merit awards draw the deepest applicant pools. Nationally, the average ACT score was 19.4 in 2024, so a score of 20 or higher already clears the typical test taker. Use the band matching your target schools to set a first goal, then confirm the exact figure each scholarship asks for.

Where Your Composite Sits Nationally

National ranks tell you the percentage of students who scored at or below a given score. ACT builds the current table from ACT-tested high school graduates of 2023, 2024, and 2025, and it applies to tests taken from September 2025 through August 2026. Percentiles put a scholarship cutoff in context: a program asking for a 28 is screening for the top tenth of test takers. The table below maps Composite scores to their national rank.

Composite score	National rank (percentile)
36	100
34	99
32	97
30	94
28	91
26	86
24	80
22	72
20	63
18	52
16	40

Read these ranks to judge how far a retake needs to move you. Climbing from 24 to 28 lifts you from the 80th percentile to the 91st, a gain of 11 points of national rank. The same four-point climb lower on the scale, from 16 to 20, moves you from 40 to 63. Percentile gains shrink as you go up, so each point above 30 takes more work for a smaller move in rank. Our guide on what counts as a good ACT score breaks these ranges down by school selectivity.

Using Your Superscore in Scholarship Applications

ACT Superscoring averages your top scores from each subject across multiple test attempts to build a superscore. If your Reading score peaks on one test date and your Math score peaks on another, the superscore combines the best of both. You choose whether a specific test date's scores or your Superscore gets sent to a college or scholarship program. Confirm on the program's own page whether it accepts a superscore before you send one. Our guide on ACT retakes and superscoring walks through how to build and send one.

College-Set Automatic Scholarship Cutoffs

Many colleges and states offer automatic scholarships tied to a minimum ACT score, but ACT does not publish a universal cutoff for these awards. ACT's own guidance directs students to check whether their state or target college offers an automatic scholarship for a given score. Verify the exact requirement on each school's financial aid or admissions page before you rely on it. Requirements differ from one college to the next, and a score earning an automatic award at one school might fall short at another. Read the page for the award year you are applying in rather than an archived listing.

Timing a Retake Before Scholarship Deadlines

ACT notes many scholarship deadlines fall in February or March, so your score needs to be ready well before then. If your current Composite falls short of a program's requirement, book a retake early enough for scores to post ahead of the deadline. Room for a second or third attempt also lets you superscore across dates when one section underperforms. Work backward from the earliest deadline on your list, not the latest.

Where to Research College Scholarship Policies

ACT recommends visiting scholarship search websites and filtering results by ACT score. ACT has also compiled a list of over 80 scholarships using ACT scores. Start with the colleges on your list, then widen the search to state programs and private databases. Run through the checklist below before you apply.

Check the financial aid page of each college on your list for automatic-scholarship score requirements.
Search scholarship databases and filter results by ACT score.
Review ACT's list of scholarships using ACT scores.
Confirm requirements directly with the college or program for the year you are applying.

Raising your Composite is the part of this process you control. Work through our ACT practice tests and drills to find the sections holding your score down, then retake with a target band in mind. Practice is free and needs no signup. Pair it with our ACT score calculator to convert raw section results into a projected Composite before scholarship deadlines arrive.