ACT Exam 2026

The ACT (American College Test) is a US standardised exam lasting 2 hours 55 minutes (or 3h 35min with the optional Writing section), with four sections: English, Math, Reading and Science. The maximum score is 36 composite points, and the international fee is around USD 181-206. Since 2025 the ACT has also offered a shorter Enhanced ACT format. Below you will find everything an international applicant to a US university needs to know.

Picture the situation. You are in the second-to-last year of secondary school, you dream of studying in the United States, and you suddenly learn that on top of your school-leaving qualifications you will have to sit a US standardised test. You type “exam for US universities” into Google and a wave of information about the SAT washes over you. Everyone talks about the SAT. But after a moment you spot another name: the ACT. What exactly is it? Is it the SAT’s rival? Is it a better choice? Can you even take it from your home country?

The ACT is the second of the two great US standardised exams, alongside the SAT, accepted by all 4,000+ American universities on an equal footing with the SAT. It was created in 1959 as an alternative to the SAT and for decades fought a war with it over the hearts of American high-schoolers. For an international applicant the ACT is often underrated — it is less well known and has fewer free materials in languages other than English, but in some cases it can be a better choice than the SAT. In this guide we take the ACT apart piece by piece, walk through each section, compare it with the SAT, show you how to register from abroad and what score to target for specific universities. All of it from the perspective of an international applicant who wants a complete picture before making a decision.

What is the ACT and who should choose it over the SAT?

The ACT is a standardised exam created by ACT Inc., an independent American non-profit organisation headquartered in Iowa City. The first ACT was administered in November 1959 as a response to the monopoly of the College Board and its SAT. Today the ACT and the SAT are accepted equally by every university in the US. No university prefers one over the other — this is important information, because many international applicants assume the SAT is the “better” exam. It is not. It is simply a different exam.

Who should consider the ACT over the SAT? Here is the profile of a candidate for whom the ACT is a natural choice:

• Strong natural sciences. If you take advanced biology, chemistry or physics (A-level Sciences, IB Higher Level Sciences, AP courses), the Science section in the ACT (unique to this exam) can be one of your strengths. Remember, though, that ACT Science is not a test of scientific knowledge but of interpreting charts and experimental data
• You prefer fact-based questions. The ACT is more “textbook” — it asks directly about grammar, facts and figures. The SAT tests reasoning and context analysis more heavily
• Fast reading. The ACT gives you far less time per question (~30-45 seconds in some sections) than the SAT. If you read quickly in English, the ACT rewards that more
• You don’t cope well with the SAT’s adaptive format. The ACT is a linear test — everyone sits the same set of questions. If the stress of the adaptive SAT paralyses you, the ACT can be gentler psychologically

Key dates for an international applicant: the ACT runs 5-7 times a year, and internationally it is available in sittings from September/October to June/July. In 2026 the planned international dates are September, October, December, February, April, June and July. The exact calendar is published by act.org on its international testing page.

What does the ACT format look like, and what does the exam consist of?

The standard ACT lasts 2 hours 55 minutes (175 minutes), and with the optional Writing section 3 hours 35 minutes (215 minutes). It consists of four core sections: English, Math, Reading and Science. The questions are multiple choice (4 or 5 options), and Math is the only section with 5 answer options instead of 4. The Writing section is an argumentative essay in which you have to present your perspective on a given social topic.

English (45 minutes, 75 questions)

The English section is 75 questions in 45 minutes, which is 36 seconds per question. A brutal pace. You get five passages of text (each ~300 words) with underlined fragments, and at each underline four options: leave it unchanged, or choose one of three alternative versions. The skills tested are grammar (Conventions of Standard English: 51-56% of questions), text production (Production of Writing: 29-32%) and knowledge of language (Knowledge of Language: 13-19%).

For non-native English speakers the hardest questions are about word choice and rhetorical skills — questions in the style of “which version best achieves the author’s purpose”. Grammar itself (commas, semicolons, tense agreement) tends to be a mastered element for any student with English at a B2+ level, because the rules are finite.

Math (60 minutes, 60 questions)

The Math section is 60 questions in 60 minutes — exactly one minute per question. That is more time than in the other sections, but the questions are often multi-step. ACT Math covers: pre-algebra (~14 questions), elementary algebra (~10), coordinate and plane geometry (~14), intermediate algebra and functions (~14), trigonometry (~4), plus statistics and probability. This is the only section in the ACT with 5 answer options instead of 4.

Good news for STEM-strong students: trigonometry (sin, cos, tan, the law of sines and cosines), exponential functions, logarithms, sequences and probability are material that anyone who has done an advanced secondary maths track — A-level Maths, IB Higher Level Mathematics, AP Calculus — knows well. Students with strong maths backgrounds regularly score 30-34 points on this section with no special preparation, while the global median is around 20.

A calculator is allowed throughout the entire Math section (unlike the old SAT, which had a no-calculator section). The list of approved calculators is published on act.org — most graphing calculators are fine, while CAS programs (TI-Nspire CAS) require the CAS functionality to be disabled before the test.

Reading (35 minutes, 40 questions)

The Reading section is 40 questions in 35 minutes, which is just under 52 seconds per question, but after subtracting the time needed to read the passages you realistically have 8-9 minutes for each of the 4 passages (with 10 questions each). The topics of the passages:

• Prose Fiction / Literary Narrative — an excerpt from a novel or short story
• Social Science — history, economics, anthropology, psychology
• Humanities — art, music, philosophy, memoirs
• Natural Science — biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy (popular-science style)

Unlike the new SAT, which has short fragments (25-150 words), ACT Reading features long passages (700-900 words). This requires a completely different strategy: fast skimming, identifying the main thesis, locating details. Test-takers often lose points here on inference questions and comparative passages (comparing two texts on the same subject).

Science (35 minutes, 40 questions)

This is the most misunderstood section of the ACT. The Science section does not test scientific knowledge. It tests the ability to interpret charts, tables, experiments and hypotheses in a scientific context. The material covers physics, chemistry, biology, geology, meteorology and astronomy, but all the data you need is given in the text. You do not have to remember formulas or definitions.

The questions are split into three passage types:

• Data Representation (~30-40%): charts, tables, diagrams. Questions like “what is the value of Y when X = 5?”
• Research Summaries (~45-55%): descriptions of experiments. Questions about cause-and-effect relationships, control of variables, interpreting results
• Conflicting Viewpoints (~15-20%): two or more scientists present conflicting hypotheses. Questions about the argument of each side

For a student with good foundations in the natural sciences (advanced secondary biology/chemistry/physics) this section is often the fastest route to a 30+. The key: don’t read the passage in full, start with the questions and go back to the charts for the data.

Writing (40 minutes, 1 essay, optional)

The Writing section is a 40-minute argumentative essay on a given social topic. You get a prompt (describing a situation, for example “Should automation be regulated by the government?”) and three different perspectives. Your task is to:

1. Choose your own perspective (you can agree with one of the given ones or propose your own)
2. Evaluate the relationships between your perspective and the given ones
3. Justify your position with concrete arguments and examples

The Writing score is separate (a scale of 2-12 with four categories: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, Language Use), and it does not count toward the composite score. Most US universities do not require Writing, but some (for example some UC schools, though they change their standardised-testing policies regularly) may prefer it. Check the requirements of specific universities.

How is the ACT different from the SAT, and which exam should you choose?

Every international applicant to a US university asks themselves this question. The short answer: both exams are accepted equally, so choose the one in which you achieve the higher percentile score. The long answer requires comparing the details.

The most visible differences:

1. Pace and character. The ACT is faster and more “textbook”. You are asked directly about grammar, facts and data. The SAT asks in a roundabout way, in the style of “which conclusion best follows from the text”. If you read quickly and like concrete questions, the ACT is for you.

2. The Science section. Unique to the ACT. It sounds like an obstacle, but for students with a strong background in biology/chemistry/physics it is often a source of points. The key: it is not a test of knowledge, it is a test of interpreting charts.

3. Format. The SAT has been digital and adaptive since 2024 (the second module depends on your performance in the first). The ACT is linear — everyone sits the same set of questions. For some people it is less stressful psychologically.

4. Cost. The ACT is almost twice as expensive for international test-takers: $181-207 vs $107 for the SAT. A difference of around USD 75-100 on each attempt.

5. Study materials. Here the SAT wins by a knockout. Khan Academy has an official partnership with the College Board and offers free, complete preparation for the SAT. There simply are no equivalent free, high-quality resources for the ACT — the best options are paid materials from act.org or commercial platforms.

You will find a detailed comparison in our article SAT vs ACT — the complete comparison. If you want to understand how ACT points translate into SAT points, check the official concordance tables published jointly by ACT Inc. and the College Board (for example, ACT 30 ≈ SAT 1370, ACT 33 ≈ SAT 1480, ACT 35 ≈ SAT 1560).

How do you register for the ACT from abroad, and how much does it cost?

Registering for the ACT from outside the US is done online through the act.org website. The whole process takes 30-45 minutes, but it requires registering at least 6 weeks before the test date (the so-called regular deadline). Later registration (late registration) is possible, but with an additional fee of USD 38.

Step by step: registering for the ACT

1. Create a MyACT account at my.act.org — required: your full name exactly as it appears on your passport, date of birth, email
2. Choose a date and test centre in your country — the search shows available seats once you enter your country
3. Decide about the Writing section — optional, +25 USD on top of the base international fee
4. Enter the universities you want to send your scores to for free (up to 4 universities included with registration)
5. Pay by card — international fee of USD 181.50 (without Writing) or USD 206.50 (with Writing)
6. Receive your admission ticket — print it and bring it to the exam along with your passport

ACT test centres outside the United States

The number of ACT centres outside the US is much smaller than for the SAT, and seats fill up quickly. Internationally, the ACT is usually hosted by international schools, American schools and IB schools in major cities, rather than by ordinary state schools. Some popular patterns to be aware of:

• Many countries have only a handful of centres, often concentrated in the capital and one or two other large cities
• Some test dates offer only 1-2 available centres in an entire country, so seats can disappear within days of registration opening
• The exact host institutions change from year to year, and a centre that was active for a previous sitting may not be open for the next one

The full, current list is available in the test-centre search on act.org once you select your country. Because supply is tight, registration for your first chosen sitting usually needs to happen 8-10 weeks in advance. If your country has very few centres, treat the registration window as your real deadline — not the exam date — and have a backup city in mind in case your first choice sells out. It is also worth checking travel and accommodation early if the nearest centre is in another city, since for many international candidates getting to the test centre is a bigger logistical challenge than the exam itself.

Full cost structure

• Total (without Writing): USD 181.50
• Total (with Writing): USD 206.50
• Late registration: +38 USD
• Test date / centre change: 44 USD each
• Additional score report: 19 USD

Planning two attempts with the international fee will cost you around USD 370-420, plus any additional fees.

A full guide to the US admissions process (including test requirements) can be found in our article The US university application process step by step.

How does the ACT scoring system work, and what score should you target?

The ACT uses a scale of 1-36 for the composite score and separate scores of 1-36 for each of the four sections (English, Math, Reading, Science). The composite score is the arithmetic mean of the four sections, rounded to the nearest whole number. The Writing section has a separate scale of 2-12 and does not count toward the composite.

What does a “good” ACT score mean?

The median ACT for the class of 2024 is 19.4 composite points. That means a score of 20 points already places you above the national average in the US. But university standards are of course much higher:

• 24+ is a score above three quarters of American high-schoolers. It opens the door to solid state universities
• 30+ is the top 6%. Competitive for most selective private universities
• 33+ is the top 1-2%. Required for the Ivy League. The median admitted score at Harvard is 34-36
• 35-36 is the elite. The median admitted score at MIT is 35-36 composite

Admitted medians at selected universities (class of 2028)

According to the official Common Data Sets published by the universities:

• Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Columbia: median 34-36
• Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, Brown: median 33-35
• NYU, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon: median 31-34
• University of Michigan, UCLA, UVA: median 30-34
• Penn State, Indiana, Ohio State: median 25-31

Remember that for international applicants the thresholds are often higher than for Americans, because you are competing for a smaller pool of places (most universities admit 10-15% international students). Check the exact requirements of a specific university in its Common Data Set.

Superscoring and the ACT

Most US universities accept superscoring for the ACT. This means that if you take the ACT twice and:

• First time: English 32, Math 28, Reading 30, Science 26 → composite 29
• Second time: English 30, Math 33, Reading 28, Science 31 → composite 30

Then the university can take your best scores from each section (English 32, Math 33, Reading 30, Science 31) and calculate a superscored composite of 31. This significantly increases your chances, so plan for a minimum of 2 attempts.

To estimate realistic application odds, check out our application calculator and GPA calculator.

When should you start preparing, and how do you study effectively?

The ideal time to start preparing for the ACT is about a year before your planned first attempt — typically two years before you intend to enrol. A realistic but still acceptable starting point is early in your final year of secondary school (September-October), assuming you aim for a first attempt in December or February and a second in April/June — before your final school exams.

Preparation plan: 4-6 months

Months 1-2: Diagnostics and fundamentals

• Take an official diagnostic test from act.org (there are free full tests)
• Identify your weak sections
• Focus on the fundamentals: English grammar for English, basics of algebra/geometry for Math
• Goal: 60-90 minutes of study a day, 4-5 times a week

Months 3-4: Pace training

• Work through sections under time pressure (there is nothing worse than practising without a timer)
• Focus on strategy — the order in which you tackle questions, elimination, the technique of skipping hard questions
• Reading: practise the skim → questions → return strategy
• Science: start with the questions, go back to the charts

Months 5-6: Full-test simulations

• Do at least 4-5 full practice tests under exam conditions (3 hours without a break)
• Analyse every mistake: why you chose the wrong answer, what the traps were
• Last week: light practice, sleep, no new material

Why doesn’t Khan Academy cover the ACT?

This is a painful truth for international candidates. Khan Academy has an official partnership exclusively with the College Board (the creator of the SAT). The entire ecosystem of free, high-quality materials in English for the SAT is available at no cost. For the ACT, Khan Academy offers only general materials in maths and reading, but no dedicated ACT course with adaptive questions.

What do you have instead for the ACT?

• The Official ACT Prep Guide — the official ACT Inc. textbook with 6 full practice tests (~USD 35-50)
• ACT Online Prep — the official ACT Inc. platform, a 4-month subscription ~40 USD
• Free official practice tests — act.org publishes 1-2 free full tests to download as PDFs
• Commercial platforms — Magoosh, PrepScholar, Princeton Review, Kaplan (paid, 100-500 USD/course)
• ACT tutors — by the hour, with rates that vary widely by country; relatively few specialise in the ACT (most focus on the SAT)

The lack of a dedicated free platform is a real disadvantage of the ACT for a student’s budget. If you are counting on a zero-cost preparation, the SAT with Khan Academy is more accessible financially.

5 mistakes students make on the ACT

1. Underestimating the Science section. “It doesn’t test knowledge, so I won’t prepare” — that’s a mistake. The Science format is specific and requires practice: start with the questions, go back to the charts, ignore long experiment descriptions until you have to read them.

2. Poor time management in English. 36 seconds per question seems extremely fast, but most questions are an underline + 4 options. If you know your grammar, the decision takes 10-15 seconds. Train your pace.

3. Reading the Reading passages in full. You have 8-9 minutes per passage. Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph, then jump to the questions and go back to the text for details.

4. No practice with the paper format. Even though the ACT now offers digital versions, many international test dates are still paper-based. Practising only with online apps can surprise you on test day.

5. Putting off Writing. If you decide to do Writing, plan for at least 2 weeks of practice — an argumentative essay in 40 minutes in English is a skill you won’t acquire in a single week.

How do universities in the US and Europe accept the ACT?

In the US the answer is simple: all 4,000+ universities treat the ACT on a par with the SAT. No university specifically requires the SAT instead of the ACT or vice versa. This was, after all, the founders’ main intention back in 1959 — to create an alternative and break the College Board’s monopoly.

Test-optional vs test-required policy

After the COVID-19 pandemic many universities switched to test-optional (the candidate decides whether to submit a score). As of 2026:

• Test-required: Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Caltech, Georgetown, MIT, Purdue, University of Florida, University of Tennessee, most public universities in Florida, Georgia and Texas
• Test-optional: a large majority of private universities, including Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, UPenn, NYU, most liberal arts colleges
• Test-blind / test-free (the university does not look at scores even if you submit them): the University of California system (UCLA, Berkeley, UC San Diego etc.), Caltech (changed to test-required from 2026 for some programs)

Policy changes from year to year, so always check the current requirements in the Common App or on the specific university’s website.

Should an international candidate submit an ACT score to test-optional universities?

Yes, if the score is above the admitted median. College Board data and independent analyses show that candidates who submitted SAT/ACT scores to test-optional universities had a higher acceptance rate than those who did not (a difference of 5-15 percentage points across various studies). For an international applicant, submitting a score is even more important, because secondary-school qualifications from abroad are not directly comparable to an American GPA.

Acceptance of the ACT in Europe

Europe is less known for accepting the ACT, but the list is not empty:

• Bocconi (Italy): minimum 32 composite (equivalent to SAT 1450+)
• IE University (Madrid): accepts the ACT, no official minimum, 28+ is competitive
• Some Dutch universities: the ACT as an alternative for gaps in other documents, 26+ is enough for most
• Sciences Po (France): prefers the SAT, but accepts the ACT on an individual basis
• University College London, King’s College London: the ACT as a supplement to A-levels, not a replacement
• ETH Zurich: accepts the ACT as one of the possible standardised tests in an international application

The general rule: if a European university accepts the SAT, it most often also accepts the ACT. If you are applying only to Europe, check the specific requirements, because for applicants with school-leaving qualifications from many countries some universities do not require any standardised test at all.

What changes await the ACT in 2025 and 2026?

The years 2024-2026 are the period of the biggest changes in the ACT’s history in decades. The reason was competition from the digital SAT (since 2024) and a drop in the number of test-takers after the pandemic. ACT Inc. announced the following modifications, introduced gradually from April 2025:

Enhanced ACT — a shorter format

From April 2025 the ACT introduced the Enhanced ACT — a version shortened by about a third:

• Duration: cut from 2h 55min to 2h 5min (without Writing) or 2h 45min with Writing
• Number of questions: reduced from 215 to around 171 questions (English 50, Math 45, Reading 36, Science 40)
• The Science section becomes optional — you can take only English+Math+Reading, or add Science (and Writing)
• The composite score is calculated from 3 sections (English, Math, Reading) if you choose the format without Science

This is an important strategic change. An international candidate now has to consciously choose whether they sit:

• The Enhanced ACT without Science (shorter, but loses the advantage of the Science section)
• The Enhanced ACT with Science (still shorter than the old ACT, keeps the Science section)
• The full traditional format (where it is still available)

Fewer sittings per year

ACT Inc. has reduced the number of international test sittings from 6 to around 5 a year (mainly the autumn-to-spring months). This increases competition for seats at international centres and makes registration an even more urgent matter — at least 8-10 weeks before the date.

Online ACT — a global expansion

The ACT is simultaneously developing an online (digital ACT) format at selected centres. The digital format offers:

• A shorter wait for results (2-3 days instead of 2-4 weeks)
• Built-in tools (graphing calculator, highlighter, flag for review)
• No need to bring pencils or erasers

As of 2026: many international centres still use the paper format, but online is available on some dates. Check during registration.

What does this mean for an international applicant?

The shorter Enhanced ACT format is good news — less fatigue on test day, fewer questions to prepare. The optional Science gives flexibility, but be careful: if you are applying for STEM programs (mathematics, engineering, biology), many universities prefer a composite that includes Science. Check the program’s requirements before choosing a format.

The general recommendation: for applicants targeting top universities, keep the Science section in the test format. A student with strong natural sciences in secondary school has a natural advantage on it, and it is often a key strength of the composite score.

Summary — is the ACT a good choice?

The ACT is a genuine alternative to the SAT, not a “second-class” exam. All 4,000+ universities in the US treat it as an equal. For an international applicant with strong natural sciences, fast reading in English and a preference for fact-based questions, the ACT may even be a better choice than the SAT. On the other hand, for budget and the availability of free materials (Khan Academy), the SAT still wins.

The key to the decision: sit one practice ACT and one practice SAT under exam conditions, check your percentile scores (not raw points) and decide based on the data. Often a student discovers that their natural advantage in maths and their talent for interpreting charts give them an edge on the ACT that they didn’t have on the SAT.

Next steps

1. Sit a free practice test of the ACT from act.org — you’ll assess your starting point
2. Compare it with a practice SAT — check the percentiles of both scores
3. Define your university goal — check the ACT medians on the Common Data Set pages of your chosen universities
4. Plan your budget — a minimum of USD 380-430 for 2 attempts plus materials
5. Register at act.org at least 8 weeks before your chosen date
6. Use our application calculator to estimate realistic odds for specific universities

Good luck. Remember that the ACT is not a test of knowledge — it is a test of skills, which can be mastered with systematic work and the right strategy. A student with strong natural sciences and a good base in English has a real chance of a 30+ composite in 4-6 months of preparation.

Sources and methodology

1. ACT Inc. — act.org — the official ACT exam website: test structure, registration, scoring, international dates and pricing policy
2. ACT National Profile Report — act.org/the-condition-of-college-and-career-readiness — the annual report with medians and percentiles of the test-taking cohort (the class of 2024 is used in this guide)
3. College Board / ACT Concordance Tables — the joint tables converting ACT scores into SAT scores, published together by both organisations since 2018, with 2024 updates
4. Common App Test Policies — commonapp.org — data on test-required vs test-optional policies across 1,000+ Common App universities
5. Common Data Set — university publications (e.g. harvard.edu/cds, mit.edu/cds) — official admitted-student medians for each class
6. NCES — National Center for Education Statistics — data on standardised tests in the higher-education admissions process