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Famous Smart People and Their ACT Scores

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If you are taking the ACT, you are following in the footsteps of a lot of other smart people! Universities use ACT scores as an indication of smarts and preparedness for college, but smart people do not always score high on the ACT test. In this article, I divulge the ACT scores of some reputedly smart people, politicians, CEOs, authors, etc.

 

ACT Scores of Smart People

At PrepScholar, we've gathered smart people’s ACT scores into the list below. Their ACT scores were discussed in interviews or found through research.

Smart Person

Known for

ACT Score

Alma Mater

Sonia Sotomayor

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

35

Princeton

Steve Jobs

Co-founder of Apple

32

Reed College

Barack Obama

44th and current President of the United States

30

Columbia University

Lyndon B. Johnson

36th President of the United States

26

Texas State University

William Faulkner

Author

18

University of Mississippi

*(Some of these scores may be unproven)

 

While all of the above people took the ACT test, many others instead took the SAT, so we converted their SAT scores to the ACT scale:

Smart Person

Known for

SAT Score

ACT Conversion

Alma Mater

Paul Allen

Co-founder of Microsoft

1600

36

Washington State University

Steve Wozniak

Co-founder of Apple

800 (in Math, full score unknown)

36

UC Berkeley

Bill Gates

Co-founder of Microsoft

1590

35

Harvard

Ben Bernanke

Economist / Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve

1590

35

Harvard

Bill O'Reilly

Political Commentator

1585

35

Marist College

Rush Limbaugh

Political Commentator

1530

34

Southeast Missouri State University

Scott McNealy

Businessman / Co-founder of Sun Microsystems

1420

32

Stanford

Al Gore

45th Vice President of the United States, under President Bill Clinton

1355

30-31

Harvard

Meredith Vieira

TV Host

1300s

30-31

Tufts University

Stephen King

Author

1300s

30-31

University of Maine

George W. Bush

43rd President of the United States

1206

26-27

Yale

John Kerry

Current Secretary of State

1190

26

Yale

Amy Tan

Author

1100s

24-26

Linfield College, San José State University

Bill Clinton

42nd President of the United States

1032

22

Georgetown

Al Franken

US Senator / Former SNL Comedian

1020

22

Harvard

Howard Stern

TV and Radio Personality

870

18

Boston University

 

Clearly, scoring low on the ACT does not mean you will not achieve great success. Though, if you score high on the ACT, you will likely have the chance to attend a more prestigious universities and will have more opportunities open to you. So, although your score is not an indication of your smarts or of future success, you should still attempt to get a great score.

 

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Then, maybe someday, you'll get a cool portrait.

 

So, how can you get the highest ACT score?

Learn the ACT test format

Being comfortable with the ACT test format is a huge advantage, especially because the ACT is a very time sensitive test (you have very little time to answer each question). To learn the test, check out our other free ACT articles: How Long is the ACT with Breaks?, How is the ACT Scored?, How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer.

 

Do lots of practice ACT tests

Because the ACT is a time crunch, you should be practicing a lot of timed ACT tests (I recommend at least 5-7 before you take your official test) and reviewing all of the answers you got wrong. Check out all of the free ACT tests available in our other article.

 

Consider using a paid resource to help you prep for the ACT

If you like reading our free articles, you should check out our PrepScholar ACT prep program free for 5 days. We divide our prep material into specific skill categories, and we'll figure out your weaknesses automatically and give you focused lessons and quizzes to improve those skills. For more paid study resources, check out our article on The Best ACT Books Recommended for ACT Prep.

 

What’s Next?

Check out our other ACT resources for help you maximize your score:

Disappointed with your ACT scores? Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Raise Your ACT Score by 4 Points (Free Download)

 

Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article!


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Dora Seigel
About the Author

As an SAT/ACT tutor, Dora has guided many students to test prep success. She loves watching students succeed and is committed to helping you get there. Dora received a full-tuition merit based scholarship to University of Southern California. She graduated magna cum laude and scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. She is also passionate about acting, writing, and photography.



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