Is a 30 a Good ACT Score?

What a 30 means for your college list

At many state universities and a wide range of private colleges, a 30 is at or above the top of the middle-50% range, so it works in your favor. At many selective colleges it sits comfortably inside the range. At the most selective schools, where middle ranges often start at 33 or higher, a 30 is below typical, and the rest of your application has to stand out.

To place each college, look up its ACT range on its admissions page or in its Common Data Set (section C9). A 30 also often clears published cutoffs for merit scholarships, but every program sets its own number.

Retake or move on?

• Move on if a 30 is in or above the range for most of your list. Each extra point at this level moves your rank only a little: a 32 is at 97, a 34 at 99.
• Retake if your top choices report ranges starting above 30, a scholarship you want has a higher cutoff, or one section is clearly behind the others.
• Use the superscore. ACT reports your best English, Math and Reading across test dates. If your colleges accept it, one more sitting can only help.

Getting from 30 to 32 or higher

The Composite is the average of English, Math and Reading, rounded. So the cheapest route up is usually your lowest of the three:

1. Find the low section. Enter your section scores in the ACT score calculator; it flags the one to work on.
2. English: most points lost at this level tend to come from a few repeat rules, like commas and concision. Our ACT English guide lists them.
3. Math: the late, harder questions. Practice them on their own, timed.
4. Reading: pace. Practice moving on from a stubborn question and coming back.

Take a full official practice test to confirm, then use our ACT practice questions and a study plan.

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