Colleges that superscore the ACT

One of the most common questions I am asked is which colleges superscore the ACT. For those

of you not familiar with superscoring, it is when a college takes the highest subscores from

various test dates to get a new higher superscore. For example, assume that a student takes the

April ACT and gets a 29 reading, 27 math, 28 English and 31 science subscores. This give a

composite score of 29. That same student then takes the June ACT and gets a 32 reading, 25

math, 29 English and 29 science. Again, the student has a composite score of 29. However, if a

college superscores the tests they combine the best scores from each test giving a 32 reading, 27

math, 29 English and a 31 science. This combined superscore gives a new composite of 30.

Most colleges in the past have superscored the SAT but not the ACT. Recently, however, some

colleges are starting to superscore the ACT. Here is a list of the colleges that I believe currently

do superscore the ACT. If a college is not on the list, I have received no information that it

superscores the ACT.

I have highlighted some of the more popular colleges (NC State, Elon, UNC Chapel Hill, U

Georgia and U Virginia).

Albion College

American University

Amherst College

Babson College

Baylor University

Beloit College

Birmingham Southern College

Boston College

Brandeis University

Bryn Mawr College

Butler University

California Institute of Technology

California State University System

Colby College

College of the Holy Cross

Connecticut College

DePauw University

Duquesne University

Eckerd College

Elon University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Gulf Coast University

Florida State University

Georgia Tech

Hamilton College

Hampden-Sydney College

Haverford College

Colleges that superscore the ACT

Hawaii Pacific University

Hendrix College

Hollins University

Indiana University-Bloomington

Kalamazoo College

Kenyon College

Kettering University

Lafayette College

Lawrence University

Loyola University in Maryland

Loyola Marymount University

Middlebury College

MIT *

Millsaps College

NCAA Clearinghouse

New York University

Northeastern University

North Carolina State University

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Pepperdine University

Pitzer College

Pomona College

Regis University

Roger Williams University

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Spring Hill College

Syracuse University

Towson University

Trinity College

Trinity University

Troy University

Tufts University

United States Naval Academy

University of Arkansas – Fayetteville

University of Chicago

University of Colorado – Boulder

University of Connecticut

University of Dayton

University of Delaware

University of Denver

University of Georgia

University of Illinois ***

University of Louisiana – Lafayette

Colleges that superscore the ACT

University of Maryland

University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Miami

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

University of North Texas

University of Puget Sound

University of San Diego

University of South Florida

University of Tampa

University of Tennessee – Knoxville

University of Vermont

University of Virginia **

Valparaiso University

Vassar College

Virginia Tech

Washington and Lee University

Washington State University

Washington University – St. Louis

Wesleyan University

Wheaton College

Williams College

Xavier University

*MIT uses the best subscores from each section of the ACT but does not use a composite score.

So effect is same benefit as superscoring.

** University of Virginia does not combine subscores to reach a superscore composite but they

do consider the best subscores from different tests.

***University of Illinois says that they do not superscore the ACT. However, they say “

Colleges will often evaluate results from the sub-scores (English, Math, etc.). If an applicant

submits scores from more than one test date, the highest sub-score(s) will be used in this

evaluation.” This appears to be similar to the University of Virginia.

Lee Bierer

College Admissions Strategies

Your Roadmap to College Admissions Success

Independent College Counselor

www.collegeadmissionsstrategies.com

704-907-5685

Weekly Countdown to College columnist since 2007

for the Charlotte Observer (every Tuesday in Living Section).

Syndicated nationally through McClatchy Newspapers

Professional member: IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association)

and SACAC (Southern Association of College Admissions Counseling)