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How do colleges see multiple sets of ACT scores?

When you send a college your ACT Score Report, all they will see are the scores from that administration. However, if you want colleges to see the scores from more than one administration, all you have to do is have the ACT send them the Score Reports from all the administrations which you’d like schools to consider.

The way colleges will look at multiple sets of ACT scores will vary from institution to institution, but the most common methods are the following:

  • Give greatest weight to the student’s most recent scores.
  • Give greatest weight to the student’s highest single-administration score, regardless of whether there are more recent administrations.
  • Mix-and-match the highest scores from all submitted administrations in order to obtain one “superscore.”

We recommend that you contact the schools you are interested in to inquire as to which approach they use (however, keep in mind that some schools may not divulge that information). Depending on how your schools use multiple sets of ACT scores, tailor the sets of scores you will submit.

Because the approaches can vary widely, we encourage students to take the test as few times as possible (preferably only once), and only when they feel the most prepared. In that way, you will be performing at your best on a single administration, and you will not have to worry about how multiple scores may be perceived and approached by colleges.