Is 28 ACT Score Good?

With a score of 28, you are in the 91st percentile of all test takers. More likely than not, with a score of 28, you'll often be in or near the commonly accepted range at highly selective colleges. The exception may be the Ivy League where the score required may be higher than 30 on average.


Colleges where your score is competitive

This is a not a full list of colleges, rather a select few where your score is competitive based on 2018 data. Score of admitted students at the 25th and 75th percentile.

College25th percentile75th percentile
Babson College2630
Bentley University2630
United States Coast Guard Academy2630
University of Connecticut2630
Skidmore College2630
University of Georgia2630
Miami University— Oxford2630

Here is the basic breakdown of ACT score:

act score admission range

Based on the breakdown above, if your goal is just to get into “a college,” an average score of 21 will be enough. You will get in somewhere. If you hope to get accepted into private and renowned public universities, you should aim for a 25 or higher. And if you are an overachiever, a good score for you is 30 or higher. It is easy to get wind up between good/bad scores. But, please keep in mind that the ACT is a component that colleges consider when admitting students; it is not the deciding factor. So, even though you should study hard, and take practice exams to get the highest score possible, it is also important to not stress about it too much and too often. Remember, you are more than just your ACT score.

The 90th percentile is solid

A score that means you scored better than 90% of test takers. While that's good, it's still not admission worthy for elite colleges like Harvard and MIT.

What other factors influence college admissions?

ACT score does not stand alone. Whether or not you are admitted to a college program (and whether or not you receive scholarship money) depends on several factors. In addition to getting the best ACT score possible, you should also work on obtaining the best GPA possible, writing a spectacular personal statement, taking a challenging course load, and rounding out your application with extra-curriculars.

Have you taken the ACT?

We can identify the topics to improve your score. Use our artificial intelligence (AI) engine to see which topics offer improvement opportunity and effort - questions to practice and time required.

Learn more