About The ACT | IvyPrep

About American College Testing (ACT)

An Overview Of The ACT Exam

The American College Testing (ACT) is a standardized test widely used in admissions to US universities. The ACT comprises four compulsory sections: English, Math, Reading and Science.

The ACT Essay is optional though some top universities consider it essential in your application. ACT Essay scores are reported separately from overall test scores.

Format

Section	No. Of Questions	Total Time (Min)
English	75	45
Math	60	60
Reading	40	35
Science	40	35
Writing (Essay — Optional)	1	40

What score should I aim for?

The ACT gives you a percentile ranking for your overall composite score as well as for each of the four section scores: English, Math, Reading and Science.

The following table is the most recent data regarding 2017-2018 percentile statistics from ACT.org.

Composite Score Range	Percentile Ranking
33–36	99
32	98
31	97
30	95
29	93
28	90
27	87
26	83
25	79
24	74
23	68

What score do I need?

Here are the average ACT scores of successful applicants to top-tier universities.

Ivy League Universities	ACT Score of 25th Percentile	ACT Score of 75th Percentile
Yale University	31	35
Harvard College	32	35
Columbia University	32	35
Princeton University	32	35
University of Pennsylvania	31	34
Brown University	31	34
Dartmouth College	30	34
Cornell University	30	34

Top Private Universities	ACT Score of 25th Percentile	ACT Score of 75th Percentile
California Institute of Technology	34	35
University of Chicago	31	35
Vanderbilt University	32	35
Stanford University	31	35
MIT	33	35
Johns Hopkins University	32	34
Northwestern University	31	34
Carnegie Mellon University	31	34

Top Public Universities	ACT Score of 25th Percentile	ACT Score of 75th Percentile
Georgia Institute of Technology	31	34
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	27	33
UC, Berkeley	30	34
University of Michigan, Ann-Arbor	29	33
University of Virginia	29	33
UC, Los Angeles	28	33
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	27	32

SAT vs ACT

Both tests are accepted by most universities in the US. However, as they have slight differences, it is recommended that candidates should take the test they would fare better in.

Should you be unable to decide which test might be more suitable for you, a good way to gauge your expertise is to attempt a full length practice test for both.

	SAT	ACT
Scoring	Composite score of 400–1600	Composite score out of 36 (average of all 4 sections)
Format	Paper and Pencil	Computerized
Dates	Offered five times a year: March May August October December	Offered seven times a year: February April June July September October December
Math formulas	Geometry formulas are provided	To be memorized
Calculator policy	Allowed in one Math sub-section	Allowed in Math section
Science section	No	Yes

Which should I take?

The types of questions in each section of the SAT and the ACT vary. Ultimately, the best way to know which test is a better fit for you is to attempt both. Click here to schedule a free SAT and/or ACT Diagnostic Test.

	SAT	ACT
Reading	Questions are always in chronological order; a number line is provided. You are given approx. 13 minutes per passage.	Questions are not in chronological order — being able to remember the location of exact details in passages gives you an advantage. You are given approx. 8 minutes per passage.
Writing	More focused on questions about writing style, language precision and vocabulary.	More focused on grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and big idea questions.
Math	Focus on Algebra, along with other topics such as Data Analysis and Modeling.	Wider range of Mathematical concepts — such as logarithms, graphs of trigonometry functions, and matrices.
Science	No Science section. Scientific data and passages present in Reading and Writing sections.	Comfort with scientific terms and experience gathering scientific data from charts and graphs will give you a greater advantage on the ACT.
Essay	No longer offered after June 2021.	Analyze three perspectives on an issue and present your own.

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