Is 21 a Good ACT Score? (2026)

A 21 is a good, above-average ACT score: 68% of recent test takers scored 21 or lower, and the national average composite is 19.4. It's the ACT cutoff for Tennessee's HOPE Scholarship, it's in range at a wide set of public universities, and it sits right at the 25th percentile at flagships like Arkansas and Iowa State.

Is 21 a good ACT score? For most students, yes. A 21 lands at the 68th percentile on ACT's current national ranks, about a point and a half above the 19.4 average for the class of 2025, and it lines up with roughly a 1080 on the SAT. It's a comfortable score at many regional and mid-sized public universities, a borderline one at flagships whose middle 50% starts at 21, and a reach at selective schools. Here's exactly where it stands and when a retake makes sense.

What Percentile Is a 21 ACT Score?

ACT's 2026-2027 National Ranks put a 21 composite at the 68th percentile, meaning 68% of recent ACT-tested graduates scored 21 or lower. These are the ranks shown as "US Rank" on reports for tests taken from September 2026 through August 2027, based on graduates of 2024, 2025, and 2026. SAT equivalents come from the official ACT/College Board concordance.

You're on the steep middle of the curve here. Each point between 19 and 24 moves you three to five percentile points, so the difference between a 21 and a 23 is nine percentile points. For every score from 1 to 36, see our ACT percentiles chart, and for how the national figure is calculated, our guide to the average ACT score. If you're comparing with a friend's result, our pages on a 19 ACT and a 20 ACT cover the scores just below.

What a 21 Means on the Enhanced ACT

On the enhanced ACT, your composite is the average of English, Math, and Reading, rounded to the nearest whole number. Science is optional and comes back as its own score, along with a STEM score, without touching your composite (ACT, Understanding Your Scores).

That makes 21 an interesting number. ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks are 18 in English, 22 in Math, 22 in Reading, and 23 in Science. A benchmark is the score linked to about a 50% chance of a B or better, and roughly a 75-80% chance of a C or better, in a matching first-year college course.

Meeting the three composite benchmarks at their minimums (18 + 22 + 22) averages 20.67, which rounds to a 21. So a 21 is the lowest composite that can clear all three. Plenty of 21s don't, which is why your section scores tell you more than the composite does. For context, in ACT's class of 2025 national report, 50% of graduates met the English benchmark, 39% met Reading, and only 29% met Math.

Colleges Where a 21 ACT Is Competitive

A 21 is in range at many public universities, especially in states where most students take the ACT. Every range below comes from the school's own 2025-2026 Common Data Set (section C9), describing first-year students who enrolled in fall 2025:

How to read this: at Middle Tennessee State and South Alabama, a 21 is a solid, in-range score. At Arkansas and Iowa State, it's at the bottom edge of the middle 50%, so a quarter of enrolled submitters scored 21 or lower. You're a realistic applicant there, but your GPA and course rigor will need to carry more of the case.

Test policies matter, too. Middle Tennessee State lists scores as required, and about 92% of its new first-year students sent an ACT. South Alabama offers a test-optional path and automatically admits students with a 3.4 GPA or higher; the rest go through a review. Arkansas lists scores as required for some applicants. Iowa State doesn't require scores but considers them if you send them, and only about 45% of its enrolled first-year students submitted an ACT. Remember that each range only describes students who submitted.

For a sense of how the list shifts one point up, see our page on a 22 ACT, and for how schools of different selectivity compare, our good ACT score guide.

A 21 and State Scholarships

This is where a 21 really earns its keep. Several state programs draw their lines right around this score:

• Tennessee HOPE Scholarship: entering freshmen qualify with a 21 ACT (or 1060 SAT) or an overall 3.0 GPA. At four-year schools the award is up to $2,250 per full-time semester as a freshman and sophomore, then up to $2,850 per semester as a junior and senior. One catch: ACT superscores are not accepted, so the 21 has to come from a single test. Other rules apply too, such as graduating from an eligible Tennessee high school (College for TN).
• Louisiana TOPS Opportunity Award: requires an ACT composite of at least the prior year's state average, never less than 20, plus a 2.50 TOPS core GPA (LOSFA). A 21 clears the 20 floor.
• Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship: a traditional student with a high school GPA below 3.00 needs an ACT of 19 or higher, so a 21 qualifies on the test side (Arkansas Division of Higher Education).

University merit awards are a different story. Automatic scholarships at many public universities start higher up the scale, so check each school's financial aid page. Rules for state programs can also change year to year, so confirm details with the agency before you count on an award.

Should You Retake the ACT With a 21?

It depends on your list. A retake is worth it if:

• Your target schools have medians of 23 or higher, like Arkansas (24) or Iowa State (25).
• Your 21 is a superscore and you need a single-test 21 for Tennessee HOPE.
• One section is well below the rest. Raising your weakest section is usually the quickest way to lift the average.

If your colleges are comfortably in range and you've already locked in a state scholarship, your time may be better spent on grades and applications. If you do retake, the odds are decent: ACT reports that students who test more than once raise their superscore by an average of 2.4 points (ACT, 2025 graduating class data). Many colleges superscore, which our ACT superscore guide explains.

Upcoming ACT Test Dates for a Retake

If you took the September 19 ACT, ACT lists October 6 as the score release date. Late registration for the October 17 test closed on September 29. Standby testing can be requested until October 12, but seats are not guaranteed, so the next dependable options are December and February (ACT test dates):

December scores come out after the common November 1 and November 15 early application deadlines, so a December retake mostly helps regular decision applications and later scholarship deadlines. Check each school's score deadline before you register.

How to Move From a 21 to a 24

A 24 puts you at the 80th percentile and near or above the median at all four schools in the table. Getting there usually means a few more right answers per section, not a whole new skill set:

1. Find your weakest section. Compare each score to its benchmark. Math at 22 is the one most students miss.
2. Close the easy gaps first. Punctuation and sentence structure on ACT English, and algebra, percentages, and linear equations on ACT Math, come up again and again, so each rule you master pays off on every test.
3. Practice timed sections. There's no penalty for guessing, so answer every question, even if you run short on time.
4. Review every miss. Label why you got it wrong. Your top three error types are where the next three points are hiding.

Frequently Asked Questions About a 21 ACT Score

Is 21 a good ACT score?

Yes, a 21 is a good, above-average ACT score. It's at the 68th percentile on ACT's 2026-2027 national ranks and above the 19.4 national average for the class of 2025. It's in range at many public universities and at the 25th percentile at flagships like Arkansas and Iowa State.

What percentile is a 21 on the ACT?

A 21 composite is the 68th percentile, which means 68% of recent ACT-tested graduates scored 21 or lower. That rank applies to tests taken from September 2026 through August 2027.

What SAT score is equal to a 21 ACT?

On the official ACT/College Board concordance, a 21 ACT corresponds to a 1080 SAT, within a range of about 1060 to 1090. Our ACT to SAT conversion chart covers every score.

Does a 21 ACT qualify for the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship?

Yes. A 21 ACT composite meets the HOPE test requirement for entering freshmen, as does a 3.0 GPA, so you only need one of the two. The 21 must come from a single test date, because HOPE does not accept ACT superscores.

Does Science count toward a 21 composite?

No. On the enhanced ACT, the composite is the rounded average of English, Math, and Reading. Science is optional and reported separately, along with a STEM score.

Is a 21 good enough for a state flagship?

Sometimes. At the University of Arkansas and Iowa State, a 21 is exactly at the 25th percentile of enrolled submitters, so it's workable with strong grades. At more selective flagships, a 21 usually sits below the middle 50%, and a retake or a test-optional application may serve you better.

Ready to find the three points between you and a 24? Try a free ACT practice quiz on Larry Learns, with questions across English, Math, Reading, and optional Science drawn from a bank of 25,000+. The free plan includes 3 quizzes a day, and you can create a free account to keep practicing on web, iPhone, or Android.