If you are an Illinois student trying to understand where your ACT score stands, here is the full picture: the average ACT score for Illinois high school juniors in 2025 was 18.8 on the composite. That is below the national average of 19.4 and significantly below what most four-year colleges in Illinois expect from applicants.
Understanding the difference between the state average and what competitive Illinois colleges actually require is the most important thing you can do before you start setting your score target.
| Metric | Score |
|---|---|
| Illinois State Average ACT (2025) | 18.8 |
| Chicago Public Schools Average (2025) | 17.1 |
| National Average ACT (2025) | 19.4 |
| Average ACT Score at Illinois Colleges | 25 |
| Highest ACT Score at an Illinois College | 35 (University of Chicago) |
| College-Ready ACT Benchmark | 21 |
Illinois requires all high school juniors to take the ACT as part of its state accountability mandate. That mandatory participation is the most important context for reading the 18.8 state average correctly.
When every student in the state takes the test, including students who have no plans to attend a four-year college, the average composite score drops. It does not reflect the scores of students who are actively preparing for college admission. It reflects the entire junior class across every school, every district, and every preparation level in Illinois.
Illinois switched from the ACT to the SAT in 2017 and used the SAT through 2024, when it returned to the ACT. The last time Illinois juniors were required to take the ACT in 2016, they posted average scores between 20 and 21.
The practical takeaway is this: if you are a college-bound Illinois student actively preparing for the ACT, the 18.8 state average is not your competition. The average ACT score at Illinois four-year colleges, which is 25, is a far more relevant benchmark for your preparation goals.
The answer depends entirely on which Illinois schools you are targeting. Here is how to read your score against what different tiers of Illinois colleges actually expect.
Score of 18 or below: You are at or below the state average. For most four-year Illinois colleges this score falls below the competitive range. Focused preparation before applying is strongly recommended.
Score of 19 to 21: You are near or at the college-ready benchmark set by the Illinois Report Card. This range is sufficient for community colleges and some four-year institutions with open or broad admissions policies.
Score of 22 to 26: You are competitive for a solid range of Illinois four-year colleges. The average ACT score across Illinois colleges is 25, which means this range puts you in a competitive position at most schools in the state.
Score of 27 to 30: You are above average for Illinois colleges and competitive for more selective in-state universities including University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where the average ACT score is around 32 and the 25th percentile is 29.
Score of 31 and above: You are in a strong position for the most selective Illinois colleges. The University of Chicago has an average ACT score of 35, making it among the most competitive schools in the country regardless of state.
Here is how the ACT score landscape looks across a range of Illinois colleges:
| College | Average ACT Score |
|---|---|
| University of Chicago | 35 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 32 |
| Northwestern University | 34 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | 30 |
| Loyola University Chicago | 27 |
| DePaul University | 25 |
| Illinois State University | 23 |
| Eastern Illinois University | 21 |
The average ACT score across all Illinois four-year colleges is 25. If you are targeting schools in the middle of this list, a score between 24 and 27 puts you in a solid position. If you are targeting UIUC or more selective schools, a score of 29 or above is where you want to be.
The average Illinois ACT score was 18.1 on English Language Arts and 18.8 on math in 2025, which according to an ACT conversion tool is about a 970 on the SAT. Nationally, the average ACT composite score was 19.4.
Illinois scores below the national average for one primary reason: mandatory participation. In a state where the ACT is mandated for all high school juniors, overall scores are lower since everyone takes the test. In states where students only take the ACT to use scores in college applications, averages are higher because those students are self-selected and actively preparing.
This distinction matters for how you interpret your own score. Scoring a 21 in Illinois puts you above the state average and at the college-ready benchmark. Scoring a 25 puts you above the average admitted student at most Illinois colleges. Neither of those is the same as being competitive at the most selective schools in the state.
The right target depends on your specific school list. Here is a practical framework:
Targeting community college or open admissions schools: A score of 18 to 20 meets most requirements. Preparation is still worthwhile for scholarship eligibility.
Targeting mid-range Illinois four-year colleges: Aim for 23 to 26. This puts you within or above the average for schools like DePaul, Loyola, and Illinois State.
Targeting University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Aim for 29 or above. The 25th percentile at UIUC is 29, meaning a score below that puts you in a difficult position for admission.
Targeting Northwestern or University of Chicago: Aim for 33 or above. Both schools are among the most selective in the country and expect ACT scores in the top 1% to 2% nationally.
Whether your target is a 21 for college readiness or a 32 for UIUC, the path to improvement is the same: targeted preparation built around the specific sections and question types that are costing you the most points.
The students who improve their ACT scores consistently share the same approach:
Illinois gives you an advantage that students in other states do not have: mandatory ACT testing in junior year creates a real baseline score and leaves time for preparation and retakes before college applications are due. Use that window.
If your ACT score is not where it needs to be for your target Illinois colleges, ScoreSmart’s ACT test prep is built around exactly the kind of preparation that moves scores across meaningful thresholds. Rather than giving you a generic curriculum, ScoreSmart shows you precisely which sections and question types are costing you points and builds your preparation around closing those specific gaps.
If you are also considering the SAT as an alternative or additional path, ScoreSmart’s SAT test prep applies the same performance analytics framework to the SAT, giving you a clear picture of where your score stands and what to fix.
Whether your goal is to improve your ACT score from 20 to 25 for a mid-range Illinois college or push to 29 or above for UIUC, or to improve your SAT score as part of a parallel strategy, ScoreSmart gives you the data to prepare smarter, not just harder.
Your Illinois college list is reachable. The question is whether your preparation is built to get you there.
Here is what every Illinois student needs to know about the average ACT score for Illinois:
Know your target school’s average. Build your preparation around the gap between your current score and that number. That is the formula that moves Illinois students from the state average to the college they are aiming for.
If you are a Florida student researching the ACT score for Bright Futures, here is the direct answer: you need a minimum ACT score of 29 for the Florida Academic Scholars award and a minimum of 24 for the Florida Medallion Scholars award. Those are the official 2025-26 requirements, and meeting them is one of the most important steps in securing scholarship funding for college.
Here is everything you need to know about the score requirements, what each award covers, and how to hit your target before the deadline.
| Program | Minimum ACT Score | Minimum SAT Score | Minimum CLT Score | Minimum GPA | Award Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) | 29 | 1330 | 95 | 3.5 weighted | 100% tuition and fees |
| Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) | 24 | 1190 | 82 | 3.0 weighted | 75% tuition and fees |
These are the official requirements for 2025-26 graduates, confirmed by the Florida Department of Education. The same score thresholds apply for 2026-27 graduates.
Understanding what is at stake makes the score targets worth taking seriously.
Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) is the most competitive Bright Futures program. It covers 100% of tuition and fees at any public Florida institution. Students who choose a private institution receive a comparable award. FAS recipients also receive an additional $300 per semester for educational expenses. This is full funding. A 29 ACT is the price of entry.
Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) covers 75% of tuition and fees at any public Florida institution. Students who choose a private institution receive a comparable award. If you do not qualify for FAS, FMS is still a significant financial award that covers the majority of your college costs at any public school in Florida.
The ACT score is one of several requirements. Here is the complete picture for each program so you know exactly what you need across every eligibility category.
Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) requirements for 2025-26 graduates:
Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) requirements for 2025-26 graduates:
Both FAS and FMS require students to complete 16 specific college-preparatory courses. These requirements align directly with Florida State University System admission requirements, which means any student being considered for admission at a Florida public university would already meet this coursework standard. The required subjects are:
Students who do not meet the ACT, SAT, or CLT score requirements may still be eligible for FAS or FMS through one of the following exemptions:
If you hold any of these designations, you are exempt from the standardized testing requirement entirely.
Winning the scholarship is step one. Keeping it requires meeting renewal standards each academic year. Here is what you need to maintain your award:
Students who are already receiving Bright Futures funds do not need to reapply. Renewal is evaluated automatically at the end of each spring term. If you do not meet the minimum GPA and credit hour requirements, you will not be able to continue or reapply.
The minimums are 29 for FAS and 24 for FMS. But aiming exactly at the minimum is a risky strategy. Here is why.
The ACT is scored in whole numbers and there is no partial credit. A 28 does not get you FAS. A 23 does not get you FMS. There is no rounding. If you are targeting FAS and you score a 28, you have missed the threshold entirely despite being one point away.
The smarter approach is to target at least one point above the minimum for the award you are aiming for:
Every point you add above the minimum also strengthens your college applications to Florida schools and beyond, which makes the additional preparation investment worth it on multiple levels.
Getting to a 29 or a 24 on the ACT is a straightforward goal with the right preparation. The students who consistently hit these thresholds share a consistent approach:
The ACT allows you to send only your best score. You can take it multiple times and submit the highest result. There is no penalty for retaking it, which makes early preparation and multiple attempts a low-risk, high-reward strategy for Bright Futures applicants.
One additional note: the Bright Futures test score requirement can also be met with the SAT. If the ACT format is not producing the scores you need after serious preparation, taking an SAT practice test to compare is worth the time. Some students who struggle to hit a 29 on the ACT find the SAT a better fit and reach the 1330 threshold more easily.
If Bright Futures is your goal and your ACT or SAT score is not where it needs to be yet, ScoreSmart’s ACT test prep and SAT test prep platforms are built around exactly the kind of preparation that moves scores across meaningful thresholds. Rather than giving you a generic curriculum, ScoreSmart shows you precisely which sections and question types are costing you points and builds your preparation around closing those specific gaps.
Whether you need to cross the 24 threshold for FMS, push to a 29 or above for FAS, or use the SAT path to improve your SAT score to 1190 or 1330, ScoreSmart gives you the performance analytics that show you what to fix and where to start. The same approach applies if you are using the ACT to improve your ACT score into the qualifying range before your August 31 deadline.
The Bright Futures scholarship can cover 75% to 100% of your college costs. Your ACT or SAT score is what unlocks it. Get there with the right preparation.
Here is what every Florida student needs to know about the Bright Futures scholarship ACT score requirements:
A 29 for full funding or a 24 for 75% funding. Both are reachable with focused preparation. Start early, identify your weak sections, and build your preparation around the specific gaps between your current score and your target.
That is how Florida students earn Bright Futures. And that is how they keep it.
If you are researching what a good ACT score for Ivy League admissions looks like, here is the honest answer upfront: you are aiming for a 34 or above. That is not a soft suggestion. It is what the data shows across all eight Ivy League schools, consistently, year after year.
Here is what that number means, why it matters, and what to do if you are not there yet.
| School | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | 33 | 35 |
| Yale University | 33 | 35 |
| Princeton University | 33 | 35 |
| Columbia University | 33 | 35 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 33 | 35 |
| Brown University | 33 | 35 |
| Dartmouth College | 32 | 35 |
| Cornell University | 32 | 35 |
The pattern is as consistent as it gets. A 34 composite puts you right at the competitive midpoint across every school on this list. A 33 puts you at or near the 25th percentile, meaning 75% of admitted students scored higher. A 35 or 36 puts you firmly in the top quarter.
The middle 50% range tells you something specific. If you score below 33, you are below the floor of what the majority of admitted students presented. That does not make admission impossible, but it means every other part of your application needs to be extraordinary to compensate.
If you score between 33 and 35, you are within the competitive range. Your ACT score will not hurt you and it will not carry you. The rest of your application, including GPA, essays, recommendations, and extracurriculars, determines the outcome.
If you score 35 or 36, your ACT score becomes an active asset. At that level it reinforces everything else in your file and removes any question about your academic readiness.
One data point worth noting: across all eight Ivy League schools, ACT English scores at the 25th and 75th percentiles were consistently higher than ACT Math scores. Princeton, for example, showed an English range of 34 to 36 against a Math range of 31 to 35. This likely reflects the profile of students who choose to submit ACT scores rather than SAT scores, but it does suggest that a particularly strong ACT Math score can make your application stand out in a meaningful way.
Ivy League schools receive tens of thousands of applications from students who all have near-perfect GPAs, strong extracurriculars, and compelling personal essays. In that environment, a standardized test score serves a specific function: it gives admissions committees a universal metric to compare academic readiness across applicants from fundamentally different educational backgrounds.
A strong ACT score does three things in an Ivy League application:
None of that means your ACT score is the only thing that matters. Ivy League admissions is genuinely holistic. But submitting a score in the 34 to 36 range removes a potential weakness from your application and lets the rest of your file do its job.
Several Ivy League schools have moved toward test-optional or test-flexible admissions in recent years. The practical reality for competitive applicants is this: if your score is in the 34 to 36 range, submit it. A strong score only helps your application. Withholding a 35 from Harvard does not make your application stronger.
If your score is below 33, the test-optional policy gives you a genuine choice. But a below-average score submitted to a school with a 25th percentile of 33 is a harder argument to make. In that case, the better path is to improve your score before applying rather than rely on the test-optional policy to neutralize a gap.
Getting to a 34 or above is not about cramming. It is about understanding exactly where your current score is falling short and building a targeted preparation plan around those specific gaps.
The students who reach the 34 to 36 range share a consistent preparation profile:
One additional note on retakes: most Ivy League schools superscore the ACT, meaning they take your highest section scores across multiple test dates and combine them into a new composite. If your Math score is strong but your Reading score is dragging your composite below 33, a targeted retake focused specifically on Reading can lift your superscore without putting any of your existing strong scores at risk.
This is worth saying directly: the Ivy League is not the only path to an exceptional education. There are dozens of schools outside the eight Ivy League institutions where a 32 to 34 ACT score puts you in an extremely competitive position, including schools with comparable academic rigor, stronger programs in specific fields, and better financial aid packages.
If you are in the early stages of building your college list, start broad. Think about program strength in your specific area of interest, location, size, campus culture, and cost alongside prestige. The best school for you is not necessarily the one with the most recognizable name. It is the one where you will do your best work and thrive.
That said, if an Ivy League school is genuinely your target, a 34 or above is the number to aim for. Get there with focused preparation and your application will be built on a solid foundation.
If an Ivy League school is on your list and your ACT or SAT score is not at the level it needs to be, ScoreSmart is built around exactly the kind of preparation that moves scores into the competitive range. Whether you are working toward a 34 on the ACT or a 1550 on the SAT, ScoreSmart’s ACT test prep and SAT test prep platforms show you precisely which sections and question types are costing you points and build your preparation around closing those specific gaps.
Rather than giving you a generic study plan, ScoreSmart gives you the performance analytics that show you what to fix, where the points are, and how to improve your ACT score or improve your SAT score before your application deadline.
The students who get into Ivy League schools do not just study harder. They study smarter, with a clear picture of exactly where their preparation needs to go. That is what ScoreSmart is built to provide.
Here is what every student targeting an Ivy League school needs to know about ACT scores:
A 34 is a high target. It is also a reachable one with the right preparation. Start with an honest diagnostic baseline, focus on the sections that are costing you the most points, and build from there.
That is how students get to 34. And that is how they get into the schools on this list.
As strange as it may sound, for experienced test prep tutors, taking a new SAT or ACT can actually be fun. I can move through an SAT verbal section in under ten minutes and usually score near-perfect results. Scoring that section feels even better—question after question marked correct, each one reinforcing confidence.
Math, however, is a completely different experience.
If verbal questions are cookies, math questions are lima beans.
I don’t get every math question right. Some problems require real effort. Others make me uneasy—especially trigonometry, which I never studied in high school. Grading math sections still makes me nervous, and getting a question wrong stings.
What’s true for tutors is even more true for students.
Every student has strengths and weaknesses across SAT and ACT sections. When completing homework or practice tests, students almost always:
Start with the sections they enjoy
Save the harder topics for last
Sometimes skip the hardest material entirely
Why? Because strong areas give positive feedback, while weak areas bring frustration, doubt, and stress. Since test prep doesn’t involve grades, weaker sections often don’t get the attention they need.
On test day, there is no rule that says you must answer questions in order.
In fact, the smartest ACT and SAT test-taking strategy is:
Answer easy and medium questions first
Secure points you’re likely to earn
Leave difficult questions for the end
If you run out of time, it’s far better to miss questions you were unlikely to answer correctly anyway. Even if time isn’t an issue, this strategy reduces stress and keeps you focused—because you already have points “in the bank.”
Here’s the paradox.
What works on test day does not work during preparation.
You’re already good at the material you like. That means there aren’t many new points hiding there. Your weaker sections, on the other hand, are filled with missed opportunities—by definition.
Every skill you improve in a weak area unlocks:
New points
Better timing
Higher consistency
This is where real score gains come from.
The essence of effective SAT and ACT prep is choosing the path of greatest resistance.
To raise your score, you must:
Identify the questions that give you the worst feedback
Spend time on topics you’d rather avoid
Face the discomfort head-on
It’s like walking into a room full of people who don’t like you and figuring out how to make friends. That’s uncomfortable—but it’s also how growth happens.
Here’s the good news:
Your practice test score doesn’t matter.
It has:
No impact on your future
No audience
No permanent consequences
You don’t even need to look at the final score.
In fact, obsessing over practice test results often makes improvement harder. When students fixate on the score, they retreat to their comfort zones and avoid risk. Ironically, letting go of the score is what allows the score to improve.
Practice tests are meant to be:
Experimental
Risk-friendly
Strategy-driven
Trying new approaches will feel uncomfortable at first—but those moments are exactly where new points are created.
This is where ScoreSmart becomes essential.
ScoreSmart score reports show you:
Where you are losing points
Where you are losing time
Which question types need the most attention
The Drill Banks then deliver exactly what you least want to practice—and most need to practice.
That’s where your time should go.
I hate to say it, but your mom was right.
You have to eat your vegetables before dessert.
In SAT and ACT prep, those “vegetables” are the hard questions, weak topics, and uncomfortable strategies. Master those—and the score increase will follow.
That’s the path of most resistance. And that’s how scores change.
Preparing for the ACT isn’t just about answering questions—it’s about practicing under conditions that closely mirror the real exam. When it comes to ACT prep, authenticity matters, and nothing replicates the real test better than official ACT practice tests created by the test makers themselves.
Crafting a statistically valid ACT question—or an entire test section—is incredibly difficult. It requires:
Massive data sets
Years of experience with scoring rubrics
Extensive validation to ensure consistency and fairness
Despite recent advances, AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini can’t replicate this level of accuracy. Solo tutors can’t do it. Many tutoring companies can’t do it. Even popular guidebooks on bookstore shelves are often hit-or-miss at best.
That’s why experienced ACT tutors consistently recommend using real, published materials from ACT itself whenever possible. There is simply no substitute for official content.
Most ACT tutoring packages include the Official ACT Prep Guide—often called the “big red book.” Published by ACT, this guide now includes updated material aligned with the Enhanced ACT.
For students preparing for the paper-based ACT, this guide is a no-brainer:
Around $30 on Amazon
Includes 4 full-length official ACT practice tests
ACT’s website offers one additional official practice test in downloadable PDF format
That’s five real ACT exams, straight from the source.
While the content of the ACT remains consistent, the testing modality matters.
If you’re taking the digital ACT, you must practice digitally.
If you’re taking the paper-and-pencil ACT, practicing in the traditional format is still perfectly valid—and preferred by many students in the U.S.
Practicing in the same format you’ll test in helps eliminate surprises on test day and builds confidence.
Let’s get strategic.
Only a full-length ACT taken in one sitting, under realistic testing conditions, can:
Give you an accurate snapshot of your score
Provide a reliable measure of progress over time
Importantly, only official ACT practice tests have trustworthy score conversion scales. These conversions—from raw score to the 1–36 ACT scale—cannot be reliably recreated by third-party publishers.
While most students need targeted practice to improve weak areas, official ACT tests should not be used as drill material. They’re too valuable.
Instead:
Use third-party practice materials for skill-building
Save official ACT tests for full-length diagnostics and progress checks
As valuable as they are, official ACT practice tests have a major downside:
They offer almost no analytics.
You get:
A raw score
A conversion chart to the 1–36 scale
You don’t get:
Performance breakdowns by topic (algebra vs. geometry)
Question-type analysis (punctuation, grammar rules, inference skills)
Clear insight into recurring weaknesses
All that information is technically there—but extracting it requires hours of manual work, spreadsheets, and often an experienced tutor.
This is where ScoreSmart fills the gap.
With ScoreSmart, you can:
Take an official ACT practice test
Record answers on a traditional bubble sheet
Upload the bubble sheet to your ScoreSmart account
ScoreSmart transforms official ACT tests into powerful diagnostic tools by providing:
Instant scoring
Full ScoreSmart score reports
Detailed category and question-type analysis for every section
Clear identification of strengths and weaknesses
If you complete all five official ACT practice tests, ScoreSmart tracks your:
Score progression over time
Section-level improvements
Persistent problem areas
All in one easy-to-read dashboard.
Let’s be honest:
A full-length ACT takes nearly three hours from start to finish—and “fun” isn’t usually how students describe it.
If you’re investing that kind of time (and you should), it only makes sense to extract as much actionable data as possible from every test.
ScoreSmart ensures that no official ACT practice test goes to waste—turning each one into a detailed roadmap for improvement.
Official ACT practice tests are the most accurate reflection of test day. ScoreSmart makes them even more powerful by adding the analytics students actually need to improve.
Practice like it’s test day—and learn like a pro.
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