{"id":6474,"date":"2016-04-17t10:51:07","date_gmt":"2016-04-17t17:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=6474"},"modified":"2017-02-15t19:01:37","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16t03:01:37","slug":"what-is-the-minimum-act-score-i-need-for-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/what-is-the-minimum-act-score-i-need-for-college\/","title":{"rendered":"what is the minimum act score i need for college?"},"content":{"rendered":"

hello magoosh readers! so, are you a high school junior with some act scores<\/a>, and want to know if they\u2019re good enough for your dream school? or are you a precocious eighth grader interested in what lies ahead? no matter the reason, you\u2019ve come to the right place.<\/p>\n

we will focus on two tasks in order to answer your question. the first is to understand all the statistics colleges throw out about act scores<\/a>. the second is use this information to your advantage when planning to take the act.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

the information<\/strong><\/h2>\n

every university that accepts the act publishes data regarding the scores of accepted students. understanding this information is crucial if you\u2019re going to make a target act score for yourself.<\/p>\n

for example, we\u2019ll use my alma mater, vanderbilt university<\/a> in nashville, tennessee. let\u2019s say i\u2019m a high school junior thinking about applying to vanderbilt in the fall. to see what act score i need<\/a>, i check their admissions website. on this page we find a term that you’ll find on just about any college admissions website:<\/p>\n

\n

act middle 50%: 32-35<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

this range of scores tells us that 50% of accepted students who submitted act scores to vanderbilt scored between a 32 and 35. 25% of scores were below 32, and 25% were a perfect 36! for me, this range indicates that if i want to go to to vanderbilt, i need at least a 32 on the act<\/strong> to be competitive. note to self: the 2003 version of me would never get into the 2016 version of vanderbilt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

planning ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n

if it\u2019s still early in your high school career, researching colleges<\/a>\u2019 act middle 50% ranges can have positive results later on. if you know what score you need on the act, you can work towards that during your test preparation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"what<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

this exercise has multiple benefits. if you\u2019re unsure about success on the act, having a goal score<\/a> will cause you to focus during the complicated process of preparing for the act. there are also a variety of online guides tailored to achieving\u00a0 certain scores, as well.<\/p>\n

this plan also has benefits for high achieving students that already test well. for these students, the pressure to perform causes them to shoot for a 36 on the act. with so few people actually achieving this score, anything less can seem like failure. if high-achieving students study the act middle 50%, they will understand that plenty of successful students did not apply with perfect scores<\/a>. and though a very high score may still be necessary, it\u2019s not perfection or bust.<\/p>\n

that’s all for now, magoosh readers. knowing where you want an act score to take you is the first step to act success!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

short answer: the minimum is different for everyone. in this article, learn how to set an act score goal that will take you to the college of your dreams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24915],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nwhat is the minimum act score i need for college?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"short answer: the minimum is different for everyone. in this article, learn how to set an act score goal that will take you to the college of your dreams.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/what-is-the-minimum-act-score-i-need-for-college\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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