If you're wondering if you have the ACT scores you'll need to get into one of the top public liberal arts colleges in the United States, here's a side-by-side comparison of scores for 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 colleges.
Top Public Liberal Arts Colleges ACT Score Comparison (mid 50%) | |||||||
| ACT Scores | GPA-SAT-ACT Admissions Scattergram | ||||||
| Composite | English | Math | |||||
| 25% | 75% | 25% | 75% | 25% | 75% | ||
| College of Charleston | 23 | 28 | 23 | 29 | 22 | 26 | see graph |
| The College of New Jersey | - | - | - | - | - | - | see graph |
| New College of Florida | 27 | 30 | 28 | 33 | 25 | 28 | see graph |
| Ramapo College | 20 | 26 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 26 | see graph |
| St. Mary's College of Maryland | 25 | 30 | 24 | 31 | 24 | 28 | see graph |
| SUNY Geneseo | 27 | 29 | - | - | - | - | see graph |
| Truman State University | 25 | 30 | 24 | 32 | 24 | 28 | see graph |
| University of Mary Washington | 22 | 26 | 21 | 27 | 21 | 25 | see graph |
| University of Minnesota-Morris | 23 | 28 | 21 | 28 | 22 | 27 | see graph |
| UNC Asheville | 24 | 27 | 23 | 28 | 23 | 27 | see graph |
| Learn what these numbers mean | |||||||
| View the SAT version of this table | |||||||
| Will You Get In? Calculate your chances with this free tool from Cappex | |||||||
Realize that ACT scores are just one part of your college application. It's possible to have scores above the averages presented here and still get rejected if other parts of your application are weak. Similarly, some students with scores significantly below the ranges listed here gain admission because they demonstrate other strengths. Liberal arts colleges are looking for good community members as well as strong students.
Also keep in mind that if you are an out-of-state applicant, you may need to have scores significantly higher than those shown here. Most state-funded universities give preference to in-state applicants.
To see a full profile of each college, click on the names in the table above. You can also check out these other ACT links (or SAT links):
ACT Comparison Charts:the Ivy League | top universities | top liberal arts colleges | more top liberal arts | top public universities | top public liberal arts colleges | University of California campuses | Cal State campuses | SUNY campuses | more ACT charts
Data from the National Center for Educational Statistics
Admissions data last updated: May 2015