United States Private Colleges Ranked by Highest ACT Score

Below is a list of the 708 private colleges in the United States with the highest ACT Score for incoming freshmen. California Institute of Technology leads the list with an average ACT Score of 35. Alternatively, check out the SAT version of these rankings.

The ACT is a standardized test used by colleges to evaluate applicants. It is not a guarantee of success in college, but it is a strong indicator of academic potential.

List of United States Private Colleges Ranked by Highest ACT Score
College	Average ACT Score
University of Dubuque Dubuque, Iowa	21
Mercy College of Health Sciences Des Moines, Iowa	21
Bethel College North Newton North Newton, Kansas	21
Friends University Wichita, Kansas	21
Manhattan Christian College Manhattan, Kansas	21
Sterling College Sterling, Kansas	21
Brescia University Owensboro, Kentucky	21
Kentucky Mountain Bible College Jackson, Kentucky	21
Xavier University of Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana	21
Concordia University Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, Michigan	21
North Central University Minneapolis, Minnesota	21
Belhaven University Jackson, Mississippi	21
Cottey College Nevada, Missouri	21
Hannibal LaGrange University Hannibal, Missouri	21
University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis Saint Louis, Missouri	21
Southwest Baptist University Bolivar, Missouri	21
Webster University Saint Louis, Missouri	21
Westminster College Fulton, Missouri	21

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.