ACT superscoring is when a college takes your highest section scores across multiple test dates and recomputes a higher composite. A 32 English from March + 34 Math from June + 33 Reading from June + 30 Science from March doesn't average to 32.25 — it superscores to 33. For students taking the test 2–3 times, superscoring can add 1–3 points to your reported composite at superscoring schools.
How superscoring math actually works
- 1Send all your ACT score reports to the school.
- 2The school's admissions system pulls your highest section scores across all test dates.
- 3It re-averages those four section scores into a new composite.
- 4That superscored composite is what reads to the admissions reader.
Superscoring policy by college
| School | Superscores ACT? | Section retest accepted? |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard | Yes | Yes |
| Yale | Yes | Yes |
| Princeton | Yes | Yes |
| MIT | Yes | Yes |
| Stanford | Yes | Yes |
| Columbia | Yes | Yes |
| Brown | Yes | Yes |
| Penn | Yes | Yes |
| Cornell | Yes | Yes |
| Dartmouth | Yes | Yes |
| Duke | Yes | Yes |
| Northwestern | Yes | Yes |
| Notre Dame | Yes | Yes |
| Vanderbilt | Yes | Yes |
| Rice | Yes | Yes |
| Johns Hopkins | Yes | Yes |
| WashU | Yes | Yes |
| Emory | Yes | Yes |
| Tufts | Yes | Yes |
| Carnegie Mellon | Yes | Yes |
| Georgetown | No (uses single highest sitting) | N/A |
| University of Michigan | Yes | Yes |
| UNC Chapel Hill | Yes | Yes |
| UVA | Yes | Yes |
| UT Austin | Yes | Yes |
| UCLA | Test-blind (does not consider scores) | N/A |
| UC Berkeley | Test-blind | N/A |
| NYU | Yes | Yes |
| USC | Yes | Yes |
| Boston College | Yes | Yes |
| Boston University | Yes | Yes |
| University of Chicago | Yes | Yes |
What this means tactically
If you're below your target by 1 point
Look at your section scores. If one section is 2+ points below the others, retake just that section. Cheaper, less prep load, and at superscoring schools, the higher single-section score replaces the lower one in your superscore.
If you're below your target by 2–3 points
Take a full retake. Two or more sections need to move and you'll likely benefit from full-test pacing practice anyway.
If you're applying mostly to non-superscoring schools
Georgetown is the most prominent non-superscoring school. If you're applying to Georgetown and superscoring schools, optimize for your single best sitting — superscoring schools will still see your section bests, but Georgetown will see the single sitting.
How to organize a multi-test retake
- 1After your first ACT, identify your two weakest sections.
- 2Spend 6–8 weeks on those two sections (drill cards on AceNotes, official passages from the prep book).
- 3Take a full retake — not a section retest — if both weak sections moved 2+ points in practice tests.
- 4If only one weak section moved, schedule a section retest (just that section) for the next ACT date.
- 5Send all score reports to your superscoring schools.
Common mistakes
- Not sending all your ACT scores. Some students send only their best sitting, which defeats the point of superscoring.
- Retaking too soon. Two practice tests in between sittings is the floor; less than that and your prep hasn't compounded.
- Confusing ACT superscoring with score choice — they're different policies. Superscoring requires the school to receive all your scores.
- Assuming all schools superscore. About 70% do; the remainder use single-sitting only.
Drill weak ACT sections free on AceNotes — superscoring rewards focused retakes.
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