If you've achieved a score of 18 on your ACTs, this places you squarely within the average range for accepted students at 371 U.S. colleges. This list features popular colleges where your application will likely be competitive, given their historical acceptance of students with a 18 ACT score. However, it's crucial to remember that a good ACT score is not the sole criterion for admission. In fact, may colleges are now test optional. It's equally significant to maintain a Grade Point Average (GPA) that aligns with the college's expectations for incoming students. The creation of this list is rooted in a comprehensive analysis of ACT scores from students admitted to all U.S. colleges
You can probably do better than a score of 18. It situates you in the bottom 38th percentile on the national scale, underperforming the majority of the 2 million ACT test takers. This score signifies your below average performance in answering questions in the English, Math, Reading and Science sections of the exam. The ACT is scored out of a maximum of 36 and a minimum of 1, meaning your 18 score represents 50% of the total possible points. If a 18 does not meet the requirements of your preferred college, you might want to consider enrolling in a test prep course to potentially enhance your score.
Let's examine how a 18 ACT score stacks up to the national averages across various demographic groups
A 18 on the ACT translates to a 970 on the SAT according to the concordance provided by the College Board and ACT. It's important to note that not all colleges disclose admission data for both the SAT and ACT. As such, we recommend checking our listings for each test to identify schools with similar academic profiles.
Scoring a 18 on the ACT places you in the 38th percentile nationwide. This implies that your performance surpassed 38% of all test takers. To put this in perspective, about 2 million students sit for the ACT each year. Thus, with your score, you've outperformed about 760,000 students with only 1,240,000 test takers achieving a higher score.
Here are some of the top ranked colleges which have historically accepted students in this test score range. Scroll down further to explore, search, sort and filter the full list.
College | Average ACT |
---|---|
Rutgers University Camden | 21 |
University of Alaska Fairbanks | 22 |
Augsburg College | 20 |
Lincoln Memorial University | 21 |
Marietta College | 21 |
Cardinal Stritch University | 19 |
Gallaudet University | 17 |
Anderson University | 21 |
University of La Verne | 20 |
Judson University | 22 |
Saint Martin's University | 20 |
Thomas University | 20 |
Holy Family University | 21 |
Western Illinois University | 21 |
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin | 20 |
371 results nationwide
Displaying 371 colleges where your 18 ACT score is within the typical range of past accepted students. You have a chance at being accepted but admission may be challenging at more selective colleges. Hint: Filter by admission chance for 1,059 target schools (good chance), 1,344 reach (harder) schools and 1,179 safety (easier) schools you can consider.
Public 4 Year
9 reviews
21 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#8 Best Public Universities in Texas
Applications Due Jun 1
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
19 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#18 Best Public Universities in California
Applications Due Nov 30
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
17 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#26 Best Public Universities in California
Applications Due Jan 19
Public 4 Year
1 reviews
20 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#16 Best Public Universities in California
Applications Due Nov 30
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
20 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#21 Best Public Universities in California
Applications Due Nov 30
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
18 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#15 Best Private Colleges in Georgia
Applications Due Apr 1
Public 4 Year
5 reviews
18 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#9 Best Public Universities in Maryland
Applications Due Apr 15
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
21 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#4 Best Public Universities in Georgia
Applications Due May 1
Public 4 Year
2 reviews
17 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#12 Best Public Universities in Alabama
Applications Due Jul 31
Public 4 Year
1 reviews
19 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#12 Best Public Universities in North Carolina
Applications Due Jun 1
Public 4 Year
2 reviews
20 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#15 Best Public Universities in Texas
Applications Due Aug 1
Public 4 Year
2 reviews
22 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#22 Best Public Universities in Texas
Applications Due Jun 1
Public 4 Year
3 reviews
17 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#25 Best Public Universities in Texas
Applications Due Jul 15
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
21 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#15 Best Public Universities in California
Applications Due Dec 15
Public 4 Year
1 reviews
21 Average ACT Composite
#5 Best Public Universities in Georgia
Applications Due Jun 1
Public 4 Year
6 reviews
20 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#10 Best Public Universities in New Jersey
Applications Due Aug 15
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
18 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#14 Best Public Universities in Virginia
Applications Due May 1
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
20 Average ACT Composite
Test Optional
#4 Best Public Universities in Oregon
You can probably do better than a score of 18. The score puts you in the bottom 38th percentile of those who take the test. Explore colleges you can get into with a 18 ACT score.
Texas State University, San Francisco State University and California State University Los Angeles are some of the best colleges that you have a competitive chance of getting into. Explore the full list: Colleges for a 18 ACT score.
A 18 ranks in the bottom 38th percentile of all students who take the ACT exam.
A 18 converts to a 970 on the SAT using College Board / ACT concordance tables. Explore the colleges: Colleges for a 970 SAT score.