I'm thinking about taking the ACT this year. I've heard different stuff from different people and it's kind of freaking me out. What would be considered 'passing' or at the very least, a decent enough score that colleges wouldn't outright reject me? Thanks, y'all!
Standardized tests like the ACT are actually not considered "pass/fail". Rather, the key is, like you say, considering which score might make your application appealing to colleges.
The maximum score you can achieve on the ACT is a 36. However, a 'good' score really depends on the types of colleges you're interested in. A score of 21 is the national average, which is usually sufficient for less selective colleges, but more selective universities generally look for scores of 30 and above, and the absolute most selective schools want to see a score in the 33-36 range.
Each particular college has different expectations, so you'll want to research the middle 50% ACT score range for the universities that interest you. You can usually find this information on their website.
Keep in mind that while your test score is one part of your application, colleges also consider your grades, extracurriculars, essays, and recommendations among other factors. You want to strive for a holistic profile that showcases your unique strengths and interests, regardless of your ACT score.
If you want to know how your application as a whole stacks up at a particular school, and how much of a boost a particular ACT score would give you, I'd check out CollegeVine's free chancing engine, which accounts for all quantifiable elements of your application, not just test scores but also GPA, course rigor, and extracurriculars to give you personalized odds of acceptance at over 1,600 colleges around the country: https://www.collegevine.com/admissions-calculator
You can experiment with entering hypothetical ACT scores into the calculator, to see how much a score of, say, 28 would boost your chances at your top-choice schools.
Finally, to ensure you do as well as possible on the ACT, familiarize yourself with the content and types of questions you'll see on the test, take timed practice tests, and evaluate your areas of strength and areas needing improvement. In addition to the chancing engine, you might find CollegeVine's series of free blog posts focused on ACT prep to be helpful: https://blog.collegevine.com/category/standardized-tests/act/
Good luck with your test prep!
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