United States Public Colleges Ranked by Highest ACT Score

Below is a list of the 443 public colleges in the United States with the highest ACT Score for incoming freshmen. University of Maryland College Park leads the list with an average ACT Score of 33. 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 Public Colleges Ranked by Highest ACT Score
College	Average ACT Score
Dakota State University Madison, South Dakota	23
Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, Tennessee	23
The University of Tennessee Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee	23
Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, Tennessee	23
University of North Texas Denton, Texas	23
The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, Texas	23
The University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, Texas	23
Southern Utah University Cedar City, Utah	23
Washington State University Pullman, Washington	23
West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia	23
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Eau Claire, Wisconsin	23
University of Wisconsin Platteville Platteville, Wisconsin	23
New College of Florida Sarasota, Florida	23
University of Montevallo Montevallo, Alabama	22
University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, Alaska	22
University of Central Arkansas Conway, Arkansas	22
San Jose State University San Jose, California	22
Fort Lewis College Durango, Colorado	22

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: March 15, 2026

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