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
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania	22
University of South Carolina Aiken Aiken, South Carolina	22
South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota	22
University of South Dakota Vermillion, South Dakota	22
East Tennessee State University Johnson City, Tennessee	22
The University of Tennessee Martin Martin, Tennessee	22
Texas A & M University Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, Texas	22
University of Houston Clear Lake Houston, Texas	22
University of Houston Victoria Victoria, Texas	22
Texas State University San Marcos, Texas	22
The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, Texas	22
Longwood University Farmville, Virginia	22
Radford University Radford, Virginia	22
University of Wisconsin Stout Menomonie, Wisconsin	22
University of Wisconsin River Falls River Falls, Wisconsin	22
Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, Florida	22
University of North Georgia Dahlonega, Georgia	22
Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, Georgia	22

Search and filter all 443 colleges

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.