Prepare for ACT Success | IvyPrep Singapore

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. The ACT Essay scores are reported separately from the rest of the 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.

The following table is the most recent data regarding 2023 – 2024 percentile statistics from ACT.org.

Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite	STEM	Score
36	100	100	100	100	100	100	36
35	99	99	98	99	99	99	35
34	97	99	96	99	99	99	34
33	95	98	94	97	98	98	33
32	94	97	92	96	97	97	32
31	92	96	90	95	95	96	31
30	91	95	88	94	94	95	30
29	90	94	86	93	92	93	29
28	88	92	84	91	90	91	28
27	87	90	81	89	87	89	27
26	85	87	79	87	85	87	26
25	82	83	76	84	81	83	25
24	79	79	74	80	78	79	24
23	75	75	69	74	74	75	23
22	71	71	64	67	69	70	22
21	66	68	59	62	64	65	21
20	60	65	53	56	59	60	20
19	55	61	48	50	53	54	19
18	51	56	43	44	47	48	18
17	47	50	39	37	41	40	17
16	43	41	34	30	35	32	16
15	38	29	30	24	28	23	15
14	31	17	25	18	22	15	14
13	25	8	19	13	14	8	13
12	20	3	14	9	8	4	12
11	16	2	8	6	3	1	11
10	10	1	4	3	1	1	10
9	5	1	2	1	1	1	9
8	2	1	1	1	1	1	8
7	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
6	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
5	1	1	1	1	1	1	5
4	1	1	1	1	1	1	4
3	1	1	1	1	1	1	3
2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

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 the SAT and the ACT are accepted by a majority of universities in the USA. Since there are distinct differences between the two tests, and all Ivy League schools sees them interchangeably, it is recommended that students should take the test they are likely to excel 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)
Subjects	(1) Evidence based Reading and Writing (2) Math	(1) English (2) Math (3) Science Reasoning (4) Essay (optional)
Dates	Offered seven times a year: March May June August October November December	Offered seven times a year: February April June July September October December
Math formulas	Contains data analytics	Contains Statistics and Probability
Math formulas	Geometry & Trigonometry formulas are provided.	Formulas are not provided and need to be memorized.
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.

	SAT	ACT
Reading	Questions are always in chronological order; a number line is provided. Students should take about 75 seconds per question.	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 and functions, along with other topics such as geometry, trigonometry, and data analysis.	Wider range of Mathematical concepts — such as logarithms, graphs of trigonometry functions, and matrices.
Science	No Science section. Scientific data and passages are present in Reading and Writing sections.	Familiarity with scientific terms and 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.

Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite	STEM	Score
36	100	100	100	100	100	100	36
35	99	99	98	99	99	99	35
34	97	99	96	99	99	99	34
33	95	98	94	97	98	98	33
32	94	97	92	96	97	97	32
31	92	96	90	95	95	96	31
30	91	95	88	94	94	95	30
29	90	94	86	93	92	93	29
28	88	92	84	91	90	91	28
27	87	90	81	89	87	89	27
26	85	87	79	87	85	87	26
25	82	83	76	84	81	83	25
24	79	79	74	80	78	79	24
23	75	75	69	74	74	75	23
22	71	71	64	67	69	70	22
21	66	68	59	62	64	65	21
20	60	65	53	56	59	60	20
19	55	61	48	50	53	54	19
18	51	56	43	44	47	48	18
17	47	50	39	37	41	40	17
16	43	41	34	30	35	32	16
15	38	29	30	24	28	23	15
14	31	17	25	18	22	15	14
13	25	8	19	13	14	8	13
12	20	3	14	9	8	4	12
11	16	2	8	6	3	1	11
10	10	1	4	3	1	1	10
9	5	1	2	1	1	1	9
8	2	1	1	1	1	1	8
7	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
6	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
5	1	1	1	1	1	1	5
4	1	1	1	1	1	1	4
3	1	1	1	1	1	1	3
2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite	STEM	Score
36	100	100	100	100	100	100	36
35	99	99	98	99	99	99	35
34	97	99	96	99	99	99	34
33	95	98	94	97	98	98	33
32	94	97	92	96	97	97	32
31	92	96	90	95	95	96	31
30	91	95	88	94	94	95	30
29	90	94	86	93	92	93	29
28	88	92	84	91	90	91	28
27	87	90	81	89	87	89	27
26	85	87	79	87	85	87	26
25	82	83	76	84	81	83	25
24	79	79	74	80	78	79	24
23	75	75	69	74	74	75	23
22	71	71	64	67	69	70	22
21	66	68	59	62	64	65	21
20	60	65	53	56	59	60	20
19	55	61	48	50	53	54	19
18	51	56	43	44	47	48	18
17	47	50	39	37	41	40	17
16	43	41	34	30	35	32	16
15	38	29	30	24	28	23	15
14	31	17	25	18	22	15	14
13	25	8	19	13	14	8	13
12	20	3	14	9	8	4	12
11	16	2	8	6	3	1	11
10	10	1	4	3	1	1	10
9	5	1	2	1	1	1	9
8	2	1	1	1	1	1	8
7	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
6	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
5	1	1	1	1	1	1	5
4	1	1	1	1	1	1	4
3	1	1	1	1	1	1	3
2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Test Preparation

Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite	STEM	Score
36	100	100	100	100	100	100	36
35	99	99	98	99	99	99	35
34	97	99	96	99	99	99	34
33	95	98	94	97	98	98	33
32	94	97	92	96	97	97	32
31	92	96	90	95	95	96	31
30	91	95	88	94	94	95	30
29	90	94	86	93	92	93	29
28	88	92	84	91	90	91	28
27	87	90	81	89	87	89	27
26	85	87	79	87	85	87	26
25	82	83	76	84	81	83	25
24	79	79	74	80	78	79	24
23	75	75	69	74	74	75	23
22	71	71	64	67	69	70	22
21	66	68	59	62	64	65	21
20	60	65	53	56	59	60	20
19	55	61	48	50	53	54	19
18	51	56	43	44	47	48	18
17	47	50	39	37	41	40	17
16	43	41	34	30	35	32	16
15	38	29	30	24	28	23	15
14	31	17	25	18	22	15	14
13	25	8	19	13	14	8	13
12	20	3	14	9	8	4	12
11	16	2	8	6	3	1	11
10	10	1	4	3	1	1	10
9	5	1	2	1	1	1	9
8	2	1	1	1	1	1	8
7	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
6	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
5	1	1	1	1	1	1	5
4	1	1	1	1	1	1	4
3	1	1	1	1	1	1	3
2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1