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The Average ACT Scores for Ivy League Colleges

The Average ACT Scores for Ivy League Colleges
Published: Mar 23, 2011
Updated: Nov 20, 2021
2 minute read

Getting accepted to an Ivy League school is no easy feat. The schools comprising the Ivy League are notorious for their high admissions standards. Since 2004 all of these schools accept both SAT and ACT scores from prospective students. All eight schools publish admissions profiles that include statistics regarding the previous year's incoming class. Most, but not all, Ivy League schools report the median ACT test score or score distributions in these profiles.

Brown University in Rhode Island

Brown University reports a score distribution in its class profiles. The median test score is between 28 and 33. This means that half of all incoming freshman scored above these numbers and half scored below. The largest percentage of the incoming class, 42.5 percent, had a score between 29 and 32. The smallest percentage of the incoming class, less than 1 percent, had a score less than 23.

Ivy League Schools in New York

Columbia University in the City of New York reports the median ACT score for admitted students. The median ACT score for incoming freshman at Columbia University is between 31 and 34.

Although Cornell University accepts ACT scores, it only publishes SAT scores of its incoming classes as 90 percent of incoming students complete the SAT rather than the ACT. The National Center for Education Statistics does publish this information and lists the median ACT score between 29 and 33.

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Ivy League Schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut

Harvard University lists no test score information in its class profiles. The National Center for Education Statistics lists Harvard's median ACT score as between 31 and 34.

Yale University lists score distributions for its class profiles. The highest percentage of accepted students, 76 percent, received an ACT score between 32 and 36. The lowest percentage of accepted students, 1 percent, received a score of less than 27. The median score is between 29 and 34.

Ivy League Schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

The University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University both publish their median ACT scores in their class profiles. The median score at the University of Pennsylvania is between 30 and 34. The median ACT score for incoming freshman at Princeton is between 31 and 35.

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