ACT 21 · 2026-2027 percentiles
Is a 21 a good ACT score?
A 21 is the 68th percentile, higher than about 68% of everyone who takes the ACT and 1.9 points above the national average of 19.1. But the question underneath is usually “good enough for what” — and a 21 is paid by 435 of the 504 colleges whose award charts we have read, 65 of them at $20,000 a year or more.
Percentile
68th
Colleges paying
435
Worth $20k+/yr
65
Largest award
$40,000
A 24 instead, same GPA
$21,500 a year more. $86,000 across four.
One point, same GPA, at the schools below — Oklahoma goes $0 to $12,000, Alabama goes $0 to $4,000.
Raise my score to a 24+ →Free to start, no card. A 24 is the 80th percentile.
What a 21 is actually worth
At a 3.5 GPA, from each college’s own published award chart. These are the schools people look up most; the full list runs to 435.
See all 435 colleges that pay a 21 →What adds up to a 21
The Enhanced ACT composite is the average of English, Math and Reading — Science is optional and no longer counts toward it. So a 21 is any total of 62 to 64 points across those three sections.
| English | Math | Reading | Total | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 21 | 21 | 63 | 21 |
| 18 | 21 | 24 | 63 | 21 |
| 25 | 19 | 19 | 63 | 21 |
| 16 | 23 | 24 | 63 | 21 |
One weak section now carries a third of the composite rather than a quarter, which is the part of the Enhanced ACT change nobody announced. Each section also contains unscored field-test questions — the calculator counts only the ones that score.
Colleges that pay a 21, by state
48 states have at least one college paying a published award at a 21 with a 3.5 GPA. The largest in each:
| State | Colleges | Largest award |
|---|---|---|
| TX | 23 | $31,000/yr |
| OH | 21 | $28,000/yr |
| MI | 20 | $32,000/yr |
| IN | 18 | $29,000/yr |
| IL | 16 | $29,000/yr |
| MO | 16 | $24,000/yr |
| KY | 15 | $25,000/yr |
| PA | 15 | $33,000/yr |
| AR | 14 | $13,500/yr |
| WI | 14 | $23,000/yr |
| KS | 13 | $25,000/yr |
| IA | 12 | $40,000/yr |
| AL | 11 | $16,000/yr |
| TN | 10 | $22,000/yr |
| VA | 10 | $20,000/yr |
| MN | 9 | $27,000/yr |
| OR | 9 | $29,000/yr |
| SC | 9 | $24,000/yr |
| WV | 9 | $19,000/yr |
| CO | 7 | $8,000/yr |
| MA | 7 | $27,000/yr |
| MS | 7 | $15,000/yr |
| ND | 7 | $9,000/yr |
| NE | 7 | $26,000/yr |
| OK | 7 | $17,000/yr |
| CA | 5 | $21,000/yr |
| GA | 5 | $16,000/yr |
| ID | 5 | $17,000/yr |
| LA | 5 | $12,100/yr |
| NC | 5 | $15,500/yr |
| NJ | 5 | $27,000/yr |
| UT | 5 | $25,000/yr |
| WA | 5 | $27,000/yr |
| AZ | 4 | $15,000/yr |
| FL | 4 | $26,000/yr |
| ME | 4 | $16,000/yr |
| MT | 4 | $15,000/yr |
| NM | 4 | $5,000/yr |
| AK | 3 | $8,000/yr |
| CT | 3 | $25,000/yr |
| HI | 3 | $19,000/yr |
| MD | 3 | $30,000/yr |
| SD | 3 | $18,000/yr |
| NH | 2 | $14,000/yr |
| NV | 2 | $10,000/yr |
| NY | 2 | $21,000/yr |
| DE | 1 | $4,000/yr |
| VT | 1 | $28,000/yr |
Every score, and what it pays
A 21 compared to every nearby score
Same 3.5 GPA throughout, so the only thing moving is the composite.
Is a 21 enough to get in?
That is a different question from what it pays, and it got harder to dodge. For autumn 2027 entry, 72 colleges and university systems require a score again — six of the eight Ivies, MIT, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, UT Austin, Purdue, every one of the twelve Florida public universities and seven Georgia publics. Columbia, Princeton and Notre Dame follow for 2028.
A 21 clears the published admission range at a large share of public universities and sits below the middle 50% at the most selective private ones. The honest summary: at the 68th percentile a 21 is rarely the reason you are turned down at a state flagship, and rarely the reason you are admitted to a school that rejects nine in ten.
What a 21 will not do
- Guarantee anything. Every figure on this page is a published threshold, not an offer — the financial aid office makes the award, and several of these schools state outright that funds are limited and first-come.
- Replace the GPA. Most of these grids are two-dimensional, and at a 3.5 the GPA is doing at least as much work as the 21. Raising one without the other moves you less than you would expect.
- Cover the full cost. The largest award here is $40,000 a year, which is a large share of tuition at a public and a smaller share of the total cost once housing, meals and books are counted.
- Count at every school. 69 of the 504 colleges we have read publish nothing that pays at a 21 with a 3.5 — either their lowest band is higher, or they publish no automatic award at all.
Questions people ask about a 21
Is a 21 a good ACT score?
A 21 is the 68th percentile, higher than about 68% of everyone who takes the ACT and 1.9 points above the national average of 19.1. More usefully: 435 of the 504 colleges whose award charts we have read publish a figure that pays at a 21 with a 3.5 GPA, 65 of them worth $20,000 a year or more.
What colleges give scholarships for a 21 ACT?
435 of the 504 we have read. Among the best known: Arizona State ($13,500 a year), Oklahoma State ($7,000 a year), Kentucky ($6,500 a year), South Carolina ($6,000 a year), Ole Miss ($5,000 a year). Every figure is read from the college's own published award chart.
Should I retake the ACT with a 21?
At these schools, yes. A 24 at the same GPA moves 4 of them — Oklahoma goes from $0 to $12,000 a year — which is $21,500 a year more across the group, or $86,000 across four years.
What percentile is a 21 on the ACT?
The 68th. That is ACT's 2026-2027 national table for ACT-tested high school graduates from 2024-2026, where the mean composite is 19.1.
A 24 is worth $86,000 more than a 21.
Raise my ACT score →Percentiles are the 2026-2027 table for ACT-tested high school graduates from 2024-2026, published by ACT. Award figures come from each college’s own published chart and carry the date we last read it. A published threshold is not an offer — the financial aid office makes the award.