Colleges for 35 ACT Scores: Where You Fall in the Middle 50%
Of the 876 main-campus colleges that report ACT percentiles to College Scorecard, 44 have a score of 35 inside the middle 50% of their enrolled students. At 0 colleges, 35 is below the 25th percentile (a reach), and at 832 it is above the 75th percentile (above typical).
Those 44 typical colleges have a median net price of $25,969 and a median acceptance rate of 9%. By sector, 2 public and 42 private nonprofit; 41 report a test-optional policy.
Acceptance rates in this group run from 4% at Stanford University to 45% at University of Maryland-College Park, so a score inside the middle 50% says little about an admission decision. The lowest net price among them is $6,128 at Princeton University.
The states with the most of them are Massachusetts (10), California (5) and New York (5). Test-optional colleges among them: 41. Because test-optional colleges often publish ranges that skew high, treat the middle 50% as a guide, not a cutoff.
-
Typical
44
Your score is within the school's middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
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Reach
0
Your score is below the school's 25th percentile.
-
Above typical
832
Your score is above the school's 75th percentile.
How the groups are defined
One rule sorts every college, using the 25th and 75th percentile scores in the College Scorecard data. We never say a college will admit a score; we only show where it falls.
- Who is counted
- College Scorecard describes these percentiles as the middle 50% of first-time students who enrolled in the fall of 2024; admitted students who did not enroll are not included. Colleges can only report scores for students who submitted them, and colleges that do not require tests often report mostly higher scorers, so their ranges tend to skew high.
- Reach. Your score is below the school's 25th percentile.
- Typical. Your score is within the school's middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
- Above typical. Your score is above the school's 75th percentile.
- ACT ranges are the composite 25th and 75th percentiles as reported, on the 1 to 36 scale.
- We do not convert between the SAT and the ACT. This page uses ACT scores only; the other test has its own pages.
- Test policy
- The test policy comes from the admissions field Scorecard calls ADMCON7. We tag a college as test-optional when it reports that tests are neither required nor recommended, or are considered only if submitted. Test-optional colleges among the 44 typical ones: 41.
- Left out: 1,480 of 2,356 main-campus colleges with missing or suppressed ACT percentiles. None had figures that contradict themselves (a 25th percentile above the 75th, or a value outside the test's valid range). 876 colleges are counted.
- Data periodTest score percentiles: fall 2024 entering class. Acceptance rate: fall 2024 applicants. Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24 (in-state price at public colleges).
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Read the full methodology Test-optional colleges and how to read SAT/ACT ranges
Typical: the middle 50% includes 35 (44)
Your score is within the school's middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile. Sorted by net price, lowest first; colleges with no reported net price come last. Showing all 44.
| College | Middle 50% | Net price | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton University Princeton, NJ Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $6,128 · Acceptance rate: 5% | 34–35 | ||
| Rice University Houston, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $13,370 · Acceptance rate: 8% | 34–35 | ||
| Stanford University Stanford, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $13,807 · Acceptance rate: 4% | 34–35 | ||
| Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $14,398 · Acceptance rate: 7% | 33–35 | ||
| University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $14,860 · Acceptance rate: 4% | 34–35 | ||
| University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $15,678 · Acceptance rate: 45% | 32–35 | ||
| Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $15,846 · Acceptance rate: 6% | 34–35 | ||
| Williams College Williamstown, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $17,716 · Acceptance rate: 8% | 34–35 | ||
| Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $18,809 · Acceptance rate: 6% | 34–36 | ||
| Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year Net price: $19,066 · Acceptance rate: 4% | 34–36 | ||
| Pomona College Claremont, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $19,285 · Acceptance rate: 7% | 33–35 | ||
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year Net price: $20,111 · Acceptance rate: 5% | 34–36 | ||
| University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $21,565 · Acceptance rate: 17% | 32–35 | ||
| Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $21,590 · Acceptance rate: 4% | 34–35 | ||
| Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $21,786 · Acceptance rate: 12% | 33–35 | ||
| Emory University Atlanta, GA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $22,585 · Acceptance rate: 11% | 32–35 | ||
| Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $23,149 · Acceptance rate: 7% | 33–35 | ||
| Amherst College Amherst, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $23,367 · Acceptance rate: 9% | 33–35 | ||
| Yale University New Haven, CT Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $23,777 · Acceptance rate: 4% | 33–35 | ||
| Brown University Providence, RI Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $25,184 · Acceptance rate: 5% | 34–35 | ||
| Haverford College Haverford, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $25,314 · Acceptance rate: 12% | 33–35 | ||
| Wellesley College Wellesley, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $25,496 · Acceptance rate: 14% | 33–35 | ||
| Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $26,441 · Acceptance rate: 36% | 32–35 | ||
| University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $26,780 · Acceptance rate: 11% | 33–35 | ||
| Smith College Northampton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $27,579 · Acceptance rate: 21% | 32–35 | ||
| Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $28,690 · Acceptance rate: 9% | 33–35 | ||
| University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $28,699 · Acceptance rate: 5% | 34–36 | ||
| Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $28,849 · Acceptance rate: 10% | 33–35 | ||
| Hamilton College Clinton, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $28,985 · Acceptance rate: 14% | 33–35 | ||
| Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $29,167 · Acceptance rate: 8% | 33–35 | ||
| Dartmouth College Hanover, NH Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $29,519 · Acceptance rate: 5% | 33–35 | ||
| Duke University Durham, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $29,612 · Acceptance rate: 6% | 34–35 | ||
| Wesleyan University Middletown, CT Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $30,177 · Acceptance rate: 16% | 33–35 | ||
| Northeastern University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $30,915 · Acceptance rate: 5% | 33–35 | ||
| University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $31,309 · Acceptance rate: 22% | 33–35 | ||
| Middlebury College Middlebury, VT Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $31,483 · Acceptance rate: 11% | 33–35 | ||
| Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $31,944 · Acceptance rate: 12% | 34–35 | ||
| University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $32,740 · Acceptance rate: 10% | 32–35 | ||
| Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $35,924 · Acceptance rate: 13% | 34–36 | ||
| New York University New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $37,050 · Acceptance rate: 9% | 34–35 | ||
| Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $39,343 · Acceptance rate: 19% | 33–35 | ||
| Tufts University Medford, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $39,998 · Acceptance rate: 11% | 33–35 | ||
| Georgetown University Washington, DC Private nonprofit · 4-year Net price: $40,815 · Acceptance rate: 13% | 31–35 | ||
| Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $41,704 · Acceptance rate: 16% | 33–35 |
Reach: 35 is below the 25th percentile (0)
Your score is below the school's 25th percentile. Closest first: the colleges whose 25th percentile is nearest above 35. Showing all 0.
No colleges fall in this group for a score of 35.
Above typical: 35 is above the 75th percentile (832)
Your score is above the school's 75th percentile. Closest first: the colleges whose 75th percentile is nearest below 35. Showing 20 of 832.
| College | Middle 50% | Net price | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $11,655 · Acceptance rate: 15% | 28–34 | ||
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA Public · 4-year Net price: $12,116 · Acceptance rate: 14% | 30–34 | ||
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $13,138 · Acceptance rate: 16% | 31–34 | ||
| The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $13,269 · Acceptance rate: 21% | 28–34 | ||
| University of Georgia Athens, GA Public · 4-year Net price: $13,936 · Acceptance rate: 38% | 29–34 | ||
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $14,355 · Acceptance rate: 42% | 30–34 | ||
| Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · 4-year Net price: $14,600 · Acceptance rate: 50% | 27–34 | ||
| University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $15,000 · Acceptance rate: 62% | 25–34 | ||
| New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $16,504 · Acceptance rate: 65% | 27–34 | ||
| Colby College Waterville, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $17,180 · Acceptance rate: 7% | 32–34 | ||
| Davidson College Davidson, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $17,379 · Acceptance rate: 13% | 31–34 | ||
| Grinnell College Grinnell, IA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $17,648 · Acceptance rate: 15% | 31–34 | ||
| William & Mary Williamsburg, VA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $19,096 · Acceptance rate: 34% | 32–34 | ||
| Trinity University San Antonio, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $23,464 · Acceptance rate: 26% | 31–34 | ||
| Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $23,781 · Acceptance rate: 14% | 33–34 | ||
| Boston University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $24,402 · Acceptance rate: 11% | 32–34 | ||
| Simmons University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $25,265 · Acceptance rate: 70% | 26–34 | ||
| Carleton College Northfield, MN Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $25,407 · Acceptance rate: 20% | 32–34 | ||
| St. John's College (NM) Santa Fe, NM Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $26,674 · Acceptance rate: 53% | 28–34 | ||
| Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $28,719 · Acceptance rate: 22% | 32–34 |