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
Yeshiva University New York, New York	31
Denison University Granville, Ohio	31
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania	31
Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania	31
Dickinson College Carlisle, Pennsylvania	31
Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, Pennsylvania	31
Muhlenberg College Allentown, Pennsylvania	31
Bennington College Bennington, Vermont	31
Whitman College Walla Walla, Washington	31
St. John's College Santa Fe, New Mexico	31
Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, California	30
Pepperdine University Malibu, California	30
Thomas Aquinas College Santa Paula, California	30
University of Denver Denver, Colorado	30
Fairfield University Fairfield, Connecticut	30
American University Washington, District Of Columbia	30
Lake Forest College Lake Forest, Illinois	30
Wheaton College Wheaton, Illinois	30

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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.