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.
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:
- Top 10 ACT Reading Tips: Use These and Improve
- The 11 ACT Science Strategies You Must Be Using
- The Best Way to Approach ACT English Passages
