how to get a 27 on the act

your act score doesn’t need to be perfect to be good. a common act benchmark is 27—get a 27 act score or higher, and many doors will open to you. now, why would you want to get a 27 on the act?

if this post caught your eye and you’re reading it now, you may already know the value of a 27 on the act. you may even have a few schools that require that score in mind…

in this post, i’ll show you how to score at least a 27 on the act, as well as telling you about the benefits of a 27 act score.

to get a 27 act score, get inspired

motivation is one of the key factors in pushing yourself to get that higher score! for example: if you get a 27 on the act, you’ll maximize your chances of acceptance at literally hundreds of colleges.

don’t believe me? take a look at the median 50% act scores (25th-75th percentile) of the top 100 u.s. universities. you’ll see that an act score of 27 places you right smack in that golden range for more than half of them. (quick tip: you can sort the table by act scores by clicking on the box labeled “25th percentile scores.”)

college act score range for the top 100 universities

college ranking	college name	25th percentile scores	75th percentile scores
1	princeton university	34	35
2	massachusetts institute of technology (mit)	34	36
3	harvard university	34	36
4	stanford university	34	35
5	yale university	33	35
6 (tie)	california institute of technology (caltech)	35	36
6 (tie)	duke university	34	35
6 (tie)	johns hopkins university	34	35
6 (tie)	northwestern university	33	35
10	university of pennsylvania	33	35
11 (tie)	cornell university	33	35
11 (tie)	university of chicago	34	35
13 (tie)	brown university	34	35
13 (tie)	columbia university	34	35
15 (tie)	dartmouth college	33	35
15 (tie)	university of california, los angeles (ucla)	29	34
17	university of california–berkeley	27	35
18 (tie)	rice university	34	36
18 (tie)	university of notre dame	33	35
18 (tie)	vanderbilt university	34	35
21 (tie)	carnegie mellon university	34	35
21 (tie)	university of michigan at ann arbor	31	34
21 (tie)	washington university in st. louis	33	35
24 (tie)	emory university	32	34
24 (tie)	georgetown	32	34
24 (tie)	university of virginia	32	34
27 (tie)	university of north carolina, chapel hill (unc chapel hill)	30	34
27 (tie)	university of southern california (usc)	32	35
29	university of california–san diego	26	33
30 (tie)	new york university (nyu)	33	35
30 (tie)	university of florida	28	33
30 (tie)	university of texas, austin (ut austin)	29	34
33 (tie)	georgia institute of technology (georgia tech)	28	35
33 (tie)	university of california, davis (uc davis)	25	31
33 (tie)	university of california, irvine (uci)	na	na
33 (tie)	university of illinois, urbana-champaign	30	34
37 (tie)	boston college	33	34
37 (tie)	tufts university	33	35
39 (tie)	university of california, santa barbara (ucsb)	26	33
39 (tie)	university of wisconsin madison	28	32
41 (tie)	boston university	32	34
41 (tie)	ohio state university	29	32
41 (tie)	rutgers university	28	33
44 (tie)	university of maryland–college park	32	35
44 (tie)	university of rochester	31	34
46 (tie)	lehigh university	31	33
46 (tie)	purdue univesity-west lafayette	27	34
46 (tie)	university of georgia	27	32
46 (tie)	university of washington	30	34
46 (tie)	wake forest university	32	34
51 (tie)	case western reserve university	32	35
51 (tie)	texas a&m university–college station	25	31
51 (tie)	virginia institute of technology (virginia tech)	27	32
54 (tie)	florida state university	27	31
54 (tie)	northeastern university	33	35
54 (tie)	university of minnesota–twin cities	27	31
54 (tie)	college of william and mary	32	34
58 (tie)	north carolina state university–raleigh	28	32
58 (tie)	stony brook university (suny)	28	33
58 (tie)	university of california–merced	17	22
58 (tie)	university of massachussetts-amherst (umass amherst)	29	33
58 (tie)	villanova university	32	34
63 (tie)	brandeis university	31	34
63 (tie)	george washington university	31	34
63 (tie)	michigan state university	26	31
63 (tie)	pennsylvania state–university park	27	32
63 (tie)	santa clara university	30	33
63 (tie)	tulane university	31	33
63 (tie)	university of miami	30	33
70 (tie)	rennselaer polytechnic institute	31	34
70 (tie)	university of connecticut	29	33
70 (tie)	university of pittsburgh–pittsburgh campus	29	33
73 (tie)	binghamton university	29	34
73 (tie)	indiana university–bloomington	27	32
73 (tie)	syracuse university	28	32
76 (tie)	colorado school of mines	29	33
76 (tie)	stevens institute of technology	31	34
76 (tie)	university at buffalo	27	32
76 (tie)	university of california–riverside	22	29
80 (tie)	clemson	28	32
80 (tie)	pepperdine university	26	32
80 (tie)	rutgers university–newark	/	/
80 (tie)	university of illinois–chicago	24	31
84 (tie)	new jersey institute of technology	25	32
84 (tie)	university of california, santa cruz	23	30
86 (tie)	drexel university	27	33
86 (tie)	howard university	22	28
86 (tie)	marquette university	26	31
86 (tie)	university of delaware	27	31
86 (tie)	worcester polytechnic institute	/	test-blind
91 (tie)	american university	29	32
91 (tie)	baylor university	27	32
91 (tie)	fordham university	30	33
91 (tie)	loyola marymount	29	32
91 (tie)	rochester institute of technology	29	33
91 (tie)	southern methodist university	30	34
91 (tie)	university of south florida	24	29
98 (tie)	florida international university	20	26
98 (tie)	gonzaga university	26	31
98 (tie)	rutgers university–camden	18	26
98 (tie)	temple university	23	30
98 (tie)	university of colorado boulder	27	32
98 (tie)	university of iowa	22	28
98 (tie)	yeshiva university	28	33

inspired? is your motivation soaring?

excellent! now let’s look at what you should do to get that 27 act score.

to get a 27 act score, know your weaknesses

getting a 27+ on the act is doable, but if you do really badly in one section, that section could pull your entire score to 26 or lower. don’t let this happen! with study and hard work, you can be strong enough on the exam to get a 27—even if your scores in a section or two are a little below that 27 target.

to reach that goal of 27, take some practice exams from the official act test prepration website or their official book, the real act prep guide. make note of sections or question types that you aren’t doing so well on. and then figure out why you don’t do well  on certain parts of the exam.

for instance, some act test-takers do poorly in math because they struggle with order of operations or make small calculation errors in in act math. other act preppers may fall short on vocabulary for act reading comprehension, or have trouble understanding the charts and graphs in act science. whatever your weak areas are, these weaknesses can be overcome, and improved on enough for a 27 target score.

to get a 27 on the act, know your strengths

everyone has strengths in some act skill or another—you may be really good at math, have a keen eye for writing and grammar, a high confidence with science texts… you get the idea.

good performance in a section of an act is a powerful secret weapon for keeping your composite score at 27 or higher, even if you get a number of questions wrong in other areas on the exam.

so build on your strengths and take advantage of them– think about just how high you could score in a strong area. if you’re a math whiz, that’s a section of the test where you may be able to place in the low or even mid-30s; this can keep your overall composite score nice and high. if you’re good at language arts, you can do well in both act reading and act english. that’s two sections where you can really shine! if you get at least a 30 in both act reading and english, a few missteps in act math and science probably won’t pull your score down to below 27.

to get a 27 on the act, aim for a score above a 27

no matter what your target score is on the act, always aim higher than your goal. this gives you the “wiggle room” you need to make sure you get at least your minimum. and it also increases the odds that you’ll get a score above the minimum goal– always a good thing!

i’ve seen students hope for a 27 and successfully overshoot, getting a 29, 30, 31, or even 32 on test day. i’ve also seen students hit the 27 mark under very bad circumstances, reaching their target score because they overshot. aim for a 30 or more, and if you’re tired, sick, or distracted on test day, you’ll likely still be able to get a 27 or 28 on the act, even under adverse conditions.