ACT Scores for Admission to State Universities in Virginia

If you're wondering if you have the ACT scores you'll need to get into one of the four-year public colleges and universities in Virginia, here's a side-by-side comparison of scores for the middle 50 percent of enrolled students. If your scores fall within or above these ranges, you're on target for admission to one of these public universities in the state of Virginia.

Virginia ACT Scores (mid 50%)
(Learn what these numbers mean)

View the SAT version of this table

*Note: Christopher Newport University and Radford University are not included in this table due to their policy of test-optional admissions.

How Does Your ACT Score Measure Up for Admissions?

It's important to realize that ACT scores are just one part of your college application. The admissions officers in Virginia will also want to see a strong academic record, and any Advanced Placement, IB, or dual enrollment classes you've taken will be a plus. These courses are a better predictor of college success than ACT scores.

The more selective schools in the table will also want to see strong non-numerical measures such as a winning essay, meaningful extracurricular activities and good letters of recommendation. School are looking for students who are active in their communities and have a variety of interests in addition to scoring well on tests.

Some of these schools are test optional and you are not required to submit your test scores in most cases. Check the school's requirements as sometimes they are required for home-schooled students.

What Do the Percentiles Mean?

The middle half of students accepted by a college are between the 25th and the 75th percentile. If that is where your scores fall, you are in the average mix of students who applied to that school and were accepted. Here is how to look at those numbers.

The 25th percentile means that your score is better than the bottom quarter of those who were accepted to that university. It also means that three-quarters of those accepted scored better than that number. Being below the 25th percentile, your test score won't weight favorably for your application, but if you are strong in other areas you may overcome that.

The 75th percentile means that your score was above three-quarters of the others who were accepted at that school. Only one-quarter of those accepted scored better than you for that element. A score at the 75th percentile or better is likely to weigh favorably for your admission.

ACT Comparisons

You can also check out these other ACT comparison charts by state, school system, and top schools of various categories.

Data from the National Center for Educational Statistics