Resources › For Students and Parents ACT Scores for Admission to Top Ohio Colleges A Side-by-Side Comparison of College Admissions Data Share Flipboard Email Print Jason Pero / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0 For Students and Parents Test Prep ACT Test Prep Test Prep Strategies Test Registration Study Skills SAT Test Prep GRE Test Prep LSAT Test Prep Certifications Homework Help Private School College Admissions College Life Graduate School Business School Law School Distance Learning View More By Allen Grove College Admissions Expert Ph.D., English, University of Pennsylvania M.A., English, University of Pennsylvania B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Literature, MIT Dr. Allen Grove is an Alfred University English professor and a college admissions expert with 20 years of experience helping students transition to college. our editorial process Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Allen Grove Updated February 24, 2020 What ACT scores do you need to get into one of the top Ohio colleges or universities? This side-by-side comparison of scores shows the middle 50 percent of enrolled students. You are in that range if your score is above the 25th percentile but below the 75th percentile. If your scores fall within or above these ranges, you're on target for admission to one of these top Ohio colleges. Top Ohio Colleges ACT Score Comparison (Middle 50 Percent) Composite 25th percentile Composite 75th percentile English 25th percentile English 75th percentile Math 25th percentile Math 75th percentile GPA-SAT-ACTAdmissionsScattergram Case Western 30 34 30 35 29 34 see graph College of Wooster 24 30 23 32 23 29 see graph Kenyon 29 33 30 35 27 32 see graph Miami University 26 31 26 32 25 30 see graph Oberlin 29 33 30 35 27 32 see graph Ohio Northern 23 28 21 28 23 28 see graph Ohio State 27 31 26 33 27 32 see graph University of Dayton 24 29 24 30 23 28 see graph Xavier 23 28 23 28 22 27 see graph SAT version of this table Test Scores and Your College Admission Application Realize that ACT scores are just one part of the application. The admissions officers in Ohio will also want to see a strong academic record, a winning essay, meaningful extracurricular activities and good letters of recommendation. You see a wide variation in the percentiles for these Ohio colleges. If you were in the middle 50 percent of applicants for Xavier or the University of Dayton, you'd still be in the bottom 25 percent of students enrolled at Case Western or Oberlin. That doesn't mean you won't be accepted, but it does mean that the rest of your application should be strong to compensate for the lower scores. Even the bottom 25 percent were admitted, so there is definitely a possibility that you would be as well. Note that Denison was not included as they are a test-optional school. The range of test scores for each university changes slightly from year to year as well, although rarely by more than a point or two. The data above is from 2015. If you are near the score listed on either end of the range, keep that in mind. What Percentiles Mean The 25th and the 75th percentile mark the middle half of the test scores of applicants who were accepted for a university. You would be in the average mix of students who applied to that school and were accepted if that is where your score falls. Here are other ways to look at those numbers. The 25th percentile means that your score is better than the bottom quarter of those who were accepted to that university. However, three-quarters of those accepted scored better than that number. If you score below the 25th percentile, it won't weigh favorably for your application. The 75th percentile means that your score was above three-quarters of the others who were accepted at that school. Only one-quarter of those accepted scored better than you for that element. If you are above the 75th percentile, this will likely weigh favorably for your application. Data from the National Center for Educational Statistics