Is 35 a Good ACT Score? (2026)

A 35 is an exceptional ACT score: it is the 99th percentile, only a 36 ranks higher, and it concords to about a 1540 on the SAT. At the most selective colleges in the country it sits at or above the median of students who sent an ACT, which is why a retake is rarely the best use of your time.

So is 35 a good ACT score? Yes, it is one of the best results the test can give you. On ACT's current national ranks a 35 composite is the 99th percentile, more than 15 points above the 19.2 national average, and it matches roughly a 1540 on the SAT. The more useful questions at this level are different ones: where a 35 actually lands at the colleges that report the highest ranges, whether superscoring changes anything, and whether chasing a 36 is worth another test date. The data answers all three.

What Percentile Is a 35 ACT Score?

ACT's 2026-2027 National Ranks give a 35 composite a rank of 99, meaning 99% of recent ACT-tested graduates scored 35 or lower. These ranks appear as "US Rank" on score reports for tests taken from September 2026 through August 2027 and are based on the graduating classes of 2024, 2025, and 2026. The SAT column comes from the official ACT/SAT concordance tables.

Notice that a 34 and a 35 carry the same rank. The national ranks are whole numbers, and so few students score at the very top that the difference between 34 and 35 does not show up as a full percentile point. Only a 36 reaches 100. In practical terms, a 35 already puts you in the top one percent, and a 36 would not move you into a different group on the national scale.

Your section ranks tell the same story. A 35 in English or Math is the 99th percentile, and a 35 in Reading is the 98th. Scores this high are rare in every section: in the class of 2026, only 5% of ACT-tested graduates scored 33 to 36 in English, 3% in Math, and 6% in Reading, according to ACT's class of 2026 national profile report. For the full scale, see our ACT percentiles chart.

What a 35 Means on the Enhanced ACT

Your composite is the average of your English, Math, and Reading scores, rounded to the nearest whole number, with halves rounding up. Science is optional and reported on its own, along with a STEM score, so it does not move the composite.

That rounding rule makes a 35 a narrow band. Your three section scores have to add up to 104, 105, or 106. A 35-35-35 gets you there, and so do lopsided splits such as 36-36-34 or 36-35-33. One more point (a total of 107, like 36-36-35) rounds to 36. So a 35 is often a single question or two away from a perfect composite, and it is also a score that can hide one section a few points below the other two. Look at your split before you decide anything, because it matters for the retake question below and because some colleges read the sections, not the composite.

Where a 35 Lands at the Most Selective Colleges

These are colleges whose own middle-50% ACT range reaches 35 or 36. Every range comes from the school's 2025-2026 Common Data Set (section C9) and describes first-year students who enrolled in fall 2025 and submitted an ACT score:

Read the last column first. At these schools only about a fifth to a third of the class sent an ACT, so each range describes those submitters, not the whole class. Stanford's Class of 2029 also applied under a test-optional policy, and Stanford's testing page notes that scores "were optional for the Class of 2029," so its students chose whether to send a score at all.

Even with that caveat, the pattern is clear. A 35 is the median at Caltech, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, UChicago, and Harvard, and it is the 75th percentile at Harvard, UChicago, Yale, and Dartmouth. At no college on this list is a 35 below the middle of the range. A 34 sits lower at several of them, which our 34 ACT guide covers in detail.

What a 35 cannot do is decide the outcome. At these colleges it tells the admissions office that testing is not a concern, and your courses, grades, writing, and what you do outside class decide the rest.

Testing Policies and Superscoring at These Colleges

Five of the seven colleges above require an SAT or ACT score, so a 35 is something you will send rather than something you might hold back. Each policy below is from the college's own admissions page, read on October 8, 2026:

• Required: Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Stanford, and Caltech all require the SAT or ACT from first-year applicants at US high schools. Harvard allows other exams to substitute in exceptional cases, and Dartmouth accepts alternatives such as AP exams from students at high schools outside the US.
• Depends on the program: Carnegie Mellon requires an SAT or ACT for its School of Computer Science, calls several other colleges "test flexible," and is test optional for the College of Fine Arts.
• Optional: UChicago says "Submitting an SAT or ACT is optional and not required for admission."

ACT calculates a superscore automatically once you have tested more than once: the average of your best English, Math, and Reading scores from any of your test dates. How colleges use it varies, and it is one of the few places where a 35 can behave differently from school to school:

• Yale lets you report "super-scored" results, as long as the ACT composite matches what ACT provides. Stanford lets you enter your ACT Superscore Composite as your highest composite.
• Dartmouth says scores from multiple sittings "will automatically be superscored."
• Caltech superscores, and it goes further: it "will not consider a student's composite score" and reviews each section score instead.
• Carnegie Mellon superscores the SAT but says it is "unable to accept superscored results for the ACT exam."

So a 35 built from two sittings counts in full at Yale, Dartmouth, and Stanford, while Carnegie Mellon looks at a single test date. Our ACT superscore guide explains how the superscore is built and lists more college policies.

Should You Retake the ACT With a 35?

For almost everyone, no. Here is the case from the numbers:

1. The national rank barely moves. A 35 is the 99th percentile and a 36 is the 100th. You would be moving within the top one percent, not into a new tier.
2. Your colleges already see a top score. At every college in the table, a 35 is at or above the median of ACT submitters, and at four of them it is the 75th percentile, the top of the reported range.
3. At least one college cannot even tell 35 from 36. Caltech's testing policy for fall 2027 applicants sorts each ACT section into buckets, and a 35 and a 36 land in the same top bucket, where "your exact score is hidden" from the committee. Caltech says its faculty research found only "a small difference" in grades between students who scored 35 and 36.
4. The upside is one point at most. ACT reports that students who test more than once raise their superscore by an average of 2.4 points, but that average is drawn from the whole scale (ACT, class of 2025 release). From 35 there is only one point left, and getting it means a total of 107 or 108 across three sections, which leaves room for almost no misses.
5. The hours have a better use. The time a 36 would take, often a full prep cycle and another Saturday, is time you could spend on essays, a senior course, or an activity that says more about you than one extra point.

There are a few honest exceptions. A retake can make sense if your 35 hides one clearly weaker section and you are applying somewhere that reads sections. At Caltech, an ACT section score below 33 is shown to the committee as the exact number instead of a bucket, so a 36-36-33 and a 36-36-32 are not the same application there, even though both can round to a 35 composite. It can also make sense if a scholarship you are applying for publishes a score line above 35; check the program's own page before you plan around it. And if you simply enjoy the challenge and have the time, a second sitting cannot hurt you at a college that superscores.

If you do retake, the calendar matters. The October 17 ACT is today, with scores starting October 22 for online tests and October 27 for paper. The next national date is December 12 (registration deadline November 6), with scores starting December 17 online and December 22 on paper (ACT test dates). That is late for early applications: Carnegie Mellon, for example, says it prefers testing completed by November 1 for Early Decision. Check each college's score deadline before you register. Our ACT test dates page has the full 2026-2027 schedule, and our perfect ACT score guide covers what a 36 takes section by section.

A 35 ACT: What to Do Next

With a 35, the score part of your application is finished. Send it where it is required, list it where it is optional, and move your effort to the parts of the file that still have room to grow. A few practical steps:

• Check how each college reads it. Required, optional, superscored, or section by section: the rules above differ even among schools with nearly identical ranges.
• Read your section split. If one section is several points below the others, decide whether that section matters for your intended major before you rule out a retake.
• Know what your report shows. Our ACT score report guide explains the section scores, the STEM score, and the ranks colleges will see.

Frequently Asked Questions About a 35 ACT Score

Is 35 a good ACT score?

Yes. A 35 is the 99th percentile on ACT's 2026-2027 national ranks, and only a 36 ranks higher. It is at or above the median of ACT submitters at Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, UChicago, Carnegie Mellon, Yale, and Dartmouth, based on their 2025-2026 Common Data Sets.

What percentile is a 35 on the ACT?

A 35 composite has a national rank of 99, the same as a 34. A 36 has a rank of 100. Scores are so concentrated below the top of the scale that 34 and 35 round to the same whole-number rank.

What SAT score is equal to a 35 ACT?

The official ACT/SAT concordance pairs a 35 ACT with a 1540 SAT, within a range of 1530 to 1560. A 36 concords to 1590.

Should I retake a 35 to get a 36?

Usually not. A 36 moves you from a national rank of 99 to 100, and a 35 is already at or above the median at the most selective colleges. A retake makes the most sense when one section is clearly weaker and that section matters for your program.

Is a 35 good enough for Harvard?

As a test score, yes. Harvard's 2025-2026 Common Data Set reports a middle 50% of 33 to 35 for enrolled students who sent an ACT, so a 35 is both the median and the 75th percentile there. Harvard requires a test score, and admission still depends on the rest of the application.

Does a superscored 35 count the same as a single-sitting 35?

At many colleges, yes. Yale and Stanford let you report an ACT superscore composite, and Dartmouth superscores automatically. Carnegie Mellon does not accept a superscored ACT, so it uses a single test date.

Already at 35 and want to stay sharp for a section that lags? Try a free ACT practice quiz on Larry Learns, with 25,000+ SAT and ACT practice questions on web, iPhone, and Android. The free plan includes 3 quizzes a day, and a free account tracks your progress and keeps your streak going.