ACT Scores for Admission to Top Pennsylvania Colleges

A Side-by-Side Comparison of College Admissions Data for 19 Top Schools

Bryn Mawr College. Montgomery County Planning Commission / Flickr

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Updated on February 24, 2020

What ACT scores do you need to get into one of the top Pennsylvania colleges or universities? This side-by-side comparison of scores shows the middle 50% of enrolled students. If your scores fall within or above these ranges, you're on target for admission to one of these top Pennsylvania colleges.

Pennsylvania Colleges SAT Score Comparison (mid 50%)
(Learn what these numbers mean)

	Composite 25%	Composite 75%	English 25%	English 75%	Math 25%	Math 75%
Allegheny College	23	29	22	30	23	27
Bryn Mawr College	29	33	30	35	26	32
Bucknell University	28	31	28	33	26	31
Carnegie Mellon University	32	35	32	35	32	35
Grove City College	23	32	23	28	23	32
Haverford University	31	34	32	35	29	34
Lafayette College	28	31	28	33	27	32
Lehigh University	29	32	28	34	27	32
Muhlenberg College	25	30	25	32	24	28
University of Pennsylvania	32	35	33	35	30	35
Penn State University	25	30	25	31	25	30
University of Pittsburgh	27	32	26	33	26	31
Swarthmore College	31	34	31	35	29	34
Ursinus College	24	30	23	30	24	28
Villanova University	30	33	30	35	28	33

View the SAT version of this table

*Note: Dickinson College, Franklin and Marshall College, Gettysburg College, and Juniata College are not included due to their policy of test-optional admissions.

To be competitive for admission, you'll want your scores to be above the lower numbers in the table. But keep in mind what these numbers mean. That lower number is not a cut-off point. 25 percent of applicants scored at or below that number. You can still be admitted with less-than-ideal ACT scores if other parts of your application are strong.

A Strong Academic Record

With few exceptions, the most important part of your college application will be your academic record. But realize colleges are looking for more than good grades. A school won't be impressed if you earned lots of "A" grades but never took any classes that challenged you. The strongest applicants take the most challenging classes available to them Success in IB, AP, Honors, and dual enrollment classes tells a college that you are well-prepared to handle college-level work.

Holistic Admissions

Along with grades and standardized test scores, the admissions folks will be taking into consideration many non-numerical measures. The strongest applicants will have a winning application essay, meaningful extracurricular activities and good letters of recommendation. Meaningful strengths in these areas can help make up for ACT scores that are a little less than ideal.

Test-Optional Admissions

Several of Pennsylvania's liberal arts colleges have test optional admissions. Four of these are identified in the table above, and Allegheny College, Muhlenberg College, and Ursinus College also do not require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their applications. You are welcome to send scores if you think they will strengthen your application, but there is no penalty for withholding them.

Data from the National Institute for Education Statistics

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Grove, Allen. "ACT Scores for Admission to Top Pennsylvania Colleges." ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/act-scores-for-top-pennsylvania-colleges-788827. Grove, Allen. (2020, August 25). ACT Scores for Admission to Top Pennsylvania Colleges. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/act-scores-for-top-pennsylvania-colleges-788827 Grove, Allen. "ACT Scores for Admission to Top Pennsylvania Colleges." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/act-scores-for-top-pennsylvania-colleges-788827 (accessed March 27, 2023).