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
Michigan Technological University Houghton, Michigan	28
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minneapolis, Minnesota	28
Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, Missouri	28
Truman State University Kirksville, Missouri	28
University of New Hampshire Main Campus Durham, New Hampshire	28
The College of New Jersey Ewing, New Jersey	28
SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, New York	28
SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, New York	28
Penn State Erie Behrend College Erie, Pennsylvania	28
The University of Tennessee Knoxville Knoxville, Tennessee	28
Texas A&M University College Station College Station, Texas	28
The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas	28
University of Connecticut Stamford Stamford, Connecticut	28
University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, Alabama	27
The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama	27
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, Colorado	27
University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida	27
Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana	27

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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.