31 ACT Colleges: Best Schools for 31 ACT Score

A 31 ACT Score is Superior (95th percentile). You are highly competitive for flagship state universities (e.g., Michigan, UVA, UT Austin).

2026 Strategy: In the current admissions cycle, a 31 is a 'Golden Ticket' for merit scholarships at mid-tier private colleges.

Expert Insight: If you are targeting T20 schools, check their Middle-50% range. If 31 is below their 25th percentile, you may benefit from a test-optional submission, provided your GPA is exceptionally high.

Best Colleges for 31 ACT Score

Following is the list of best suited colleges with your 31 ACT Score.

Logo	College	State	ACT 25th Percentile	ACT 75th Percentile	Acceptance Rate	Status
Logo	College	State	ACT 25th Percentile	ACT 75th Percentile	Acceptance Rate	Status
	Bates College	Maine	32	33	13.74%	HARD REACH
	Davidson College	North Carolina	31	33	16.95%	COMP. MATCH
	Tulane University of Louisiana	Louisiana	31	33	11.45%	ELITE REACH
	Simpson College	Iowa	31	33	89.1%	SOLID MATCH
	Southern Methodist University	Texas	31	34	52.25%	SOLID MATCH
	Kenyon College	Ohio	31	34	34.3%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Rochester	New York	31	34	38.91%	SOLID MATCH
	Stevens Institute of Technology	New Jersey	31	34	46.22%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan	31	34	17.69%	COMP. MATCH
	Boston University	Massachusetts	31	34	14.37%	COMP. MATCH
	Brandeis University	Massachusetts	31	34	39.41%	SOLID MATCH
	Smith College	Massachusetts	31	34	22.86%	COMP. MATCH
	Grinnell College	Iowa	31	34	10.76%	ELITE REACH
	George Washington University	District of Columbia	31	34	48.98%	SOLID MATCH
	Wesleyan University	Connecticut	31	34	14.43%	COMP. MATCH
	Occidental College	California	31	34	39.4%	SOLID MATCH
	The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art	New York	31	35	22.47%	COMP. MATCH
	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	Georgia	31	35	17.13%	COMP. MATCH
	Emerson College	Massachusetts	30	32	42.75%	SOLID MATCH
	Trinity College	Connecticut	30	32	36.14%	SOLID MATCH
	Whitman College	Washington	30	33	47.7%	SOLID MATCH
	Lafayette College	Pennsylvania	30	33	33.63%	SOLID MATCH
	Bucknell University	Pennsylvania	30	33	32.55%	SOLID MATCH
	Lehigh University	Pennsylvania	30	33	36.98%	SOLID MATCH
	Franklin and Marshall College	Pennsylvania	30	33	36.23%	SOLID MATCH
	Reed College	Oregon	30	33	30.8%	SOLID MATCH
	Oberlin College	Ohio	30	33	34.87%	SOLID MATCH
	Skidmore College	New York	30	33	25.54%	COMP. MATCH
	Fordham University	New York	30	33	54.13%	SOLID MATCH
	Babson College	Massachusetts	30	33	22.35%	COMP. MATCH
	St. John's College	Maryland	30	33	49.9%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Miami	Florida	30	33	18.94%	COMP. MATCH
	Connecticut College	Connecticut	30	33	40.4%	SOLID MATCH
	Colorado School of Mines	Colorado	30	33	58%	SOLID MATCH
	Westmont College	California	30	33	81.99%	SOLID MATCH
	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	30	34	17.11%	COMP. MATCH
	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	New York	30	34	64.51%	SOLID MATCH
	Macalester College	Minnesota	30	34	28.42%	COMP. MATCH
	Hillsdale College	Michigan	30	34	20.58%	COMP. MATCH
	Mount Holyoke College	Massachusetts	30	34	39.76%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Maryland-College Park	Maryland	30	34	44.61%	SOLID MATCH
	SUNY at Purchase College	New York	29	31	74.68%	SOLID MATCH
	Lewis & Clark College	Oregon	29	32	68.59%	SOLID MATCH
	Denison University	Ohio	29	32	21.96%	COMP. MATCH
	Ohio State University-Main Campus	Ohio	29	32	52.72%	SOLID MATCH
	St Lawrence University	New York	29	32	63.5%	SOLID MATCH
	American University	District of Columbia	29	32	40.63%	SOLID MATCH
	Loyola Marymount University	California	29	32	41.31%	SOLID MATCH
	Bennington College	Vermont	29	33	45.31%	SOLID MATCH
	Trinity University	Texas	29	33	30.51%	SOLID MATCH
	Rhode Island School of Design	Rhode Island	29	33	17.42%	COMP. MATCH
	Bryn Mawr College	Pennsylvania	29	33	30.75%	SOLID MATCH
	Muhlenberg College	Pennsylvania	29	33	65.51%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	Pennsylvania	29	33	49.14%	SOLID MATCH
	Sarah Lawrence College	New York	29	33	49.88%	SOLID MATCH
	Rochester Institute of Technology	New York	29	33	67.17%	SOLID MATCH
	Union College	New York	29	33	46.51%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	Massachusetts	29	33	63.52%	SOLID MATCH
	Colorado College	Colorado	29	33	16.3%	COMP. MATCH
	Santa Clara University	California	29	33	52.11%	SOLID MATCH
	Binghamton University	New York	29	34	41.75%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Illinois	29	34	44.82%	SOLID MATCH
	St. Mary's College of Maryland	Maryland	28	30	77.3%	HIGH SAFETY
	Seton Hall University	New Jersey	28	31	75.07%	SOLID MATCH
	Fairfield University	Connecticut	28	31	52.18%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Vermont	Vermont	28	32	59.79%	SOLID MATCH
	Rhodes College	Tennessee	28	32	53.91%	SOLID MATCH
	Clemson University	South Carolina	28	32	42.98%	SOLID MATCH
	Providence College	Rhode Island	28	32	52.78%	SOLID MATCH
	Ursinus College	Pennsylvania	28	32	82.21%	SOLID MATCH
	Gettysburg College	Pennsylvania	28	32	56.31%	SOLID MATCH
	Syracuse University	New York	28	32	51.75%	SOLID MATCH
	Ithaca College	New York	28	32	75.2%	SOLID MATCH
	St. John's College	New Mexico	28	32	54.08%	SOLID MATCH
	Bentley University	Massachusetts	28	32	57.88%	SOLID MATCH
	College of the Holy Cross	Massachusetts	28	32	36.36%	SOLID MATCH
	Simmons University	Massachusetts	28	32	76.46%	SOLID MATCH
	Illinois Institute of Technology	Illinois	28	32	61.44%	SOLID MATCH
	Knox College	Illinois	28	32	73.32%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Denver	Colorado	28	32	77.68%	SOLID MATCH
	Pepperdine University	California	28	32	48.71%	SOLID MATCH
	Baylor University	Texas	28	33	45.88%	SOLID MATCH
	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	North Carolina	28	33	47.17%	SOLID MATCH
	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	New Jersey	28	33	66.29%	SOLID MATCH
	St Olaf College	Minnesota	28	33	56.41%	SOLID MATCH
	Clark University	Massachusetts	28	33	50.32%	SOLID MATCH
	Wheaton College	Illinois	28	33	88.43%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Florida	Florida	28	33	23.35%	COMP. MATCH
	University of Connecticut	Connecticut	28	33	54.51%	SOLID MATCH
	United States Air Force Academy	Colorado	28	33	16.23%	COMP. MATCH
	Pacific Lutheran University	Washington	27	30	88.9%	HIGH SAFETY
	Saint Michael's College	Vermont	27	30	85.15%	HIGH SAFETY
	Valparaiso University	Indiana	27	30	94.15%	HIGH SAFETY
	Patrick Henry College	Virginia	27	31	75.85%	SOLID MATCH
	Champlain College	Vermont	27	31	55.68%	SOLID MATCH
	Wofford College	South Carolina	27	31	60.18%	SOLID MATCH
	Thomas Jefferson University	Pennsylvania	27	31	88.85%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Portland	Oregon	27	31	92.51%	SOLID MATCH
	Loyola University Chicago	Illinois	27	31	79.15%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Florida-Online	Florida	27	31	64.64%	SOLID MATCH
	University of San Francisco	California	27	31	71.18%	SOLID MATCH
	Lawrence University	Wisconsin	27	32	72.27%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Puget Sound	Washington	27	32	82.66%	SOLID MATCH
	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Virginia	27	32	56.98%	SOLID MATCH
	Brigham Young University	Utah	27	32	66.67%	SOLID MATCH
	The University of the South	Tennessee	27	32	52.32%	SOLID MATCH
	Furman University	South Carolina	27	32	67.02%	SOLID MATCH
	University of South Carolina-Columbia	South Carolina	27	32	64.05%	SOLID MATCH
	Bryant University	Rhode Island	27	32	68.81%	SOLID MATCH
	Drexel University	Pennsylvania	27	32	79.61%	SOLID MATCH
	The College of Wooster	Ohio	27	32	56.27%	SOLID MATCH
	School of Visual Arts	New York	27	32	87.41%	SOLID MATCH
	Hobart William Smith Colleges	New York	27	32	68.38%	SOLID MATCH
	Creighton University	Nebraska	27	32	75.69%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minnesota	27	32	74.91%	SOLID MATCH
	Centre College	Kentucky	27	32	62.85%	SOLID MATCH
	Indiana University-Bloomington	Indiana	27	32	82.41%	SOLID MATCH
	University of Georgia	Georgia	27	32	42.55%	SOLID MATCH
	Thomas Aquinas College	California	27	32	84.73%	SOLID MATCH
	United States Military Academy	New York	27	33	11.95%	ELITE REACH

Your best choices will be the schools and colleges where the average ACT score of the admitted students is 29 to 33. We are also showing you the 25th percentile and 75th percentile ACT Score of the admitted students so that you can have a clear understanding of how many students score what ACT Score. If your 31 ACT Score is higher than 25th percentile, it means your score is better than the quarter of the admitted students, and if it is higher than 75th percentile, then it means your ACT score of 31 is higher than 75% of the students admitted at that school.

Choose a college where your score is near to 75th percentile, this will maximize your chances of admission. You can also apply to other schools as well, but to be on safe side, you must apply to at least 2-3 such schools and colleges.

FAQ for ACT 31 Score

How does a 31 ACT score compare to the SAT?

A 31 ACT corresponds to about a 1460 SAT. It’s competitive for many top schools but may not guarantee Ivy League acceptance.

What scholarships are available for a 31 ACT score?

You’re eligible for many merit scholarships, especially if you also have strong extracurriculars and a solid GPA.

Can I get into Ivy League schools with a 31 ACT score?

A 31 is on the lower end for Ivy League schools. You can still be considered if your GPA and extracurriculars are exceptional.

Should I retake the ACT to improve my score?

Retaking is optional unless you're aiming for Ivy League schools, where higher scores are more competitive.

What is the national average ACT score?

The national average ACT score is around 20–21, so a 31 is well above the national average.

Do test-optional colleges consider a 31 ACT score if submitted?

Yes, a 31 ACT will strengthen your application even at test-optional schools.

What GPA is a 31 ACT?

A 31 ACT typically aligns with a GPA of 3.6–3.8, indicating strong academic performance.

Can I get into NYU with a 31 ACT?

Yes, NYU accepts students with ACT scores around 28–32, so a 31 places you well within their typical range.

Is 31 a good ACT score for Harvard?

Harvard generally expects scores closer to 34, but a 31 may still be considered if your application is exceptional in other areas.

Can I get into MIT with a 31 ACT?

MIT usually looks for scores in the 34–36 range, so a 31 is slightly below their typical range. However, other academic strengths can help.

Can I get into Princeton with a 31 ACT score?

Princeton’s average ACT score is closer to 34, but a 31 is still within reach, especially with strong grades and extracurricular activities.

What if you improve your ACT score by 2 points (to 33)?

A score of 33 would place you in a stronger position for Ivy League and other top-tier schools.

Best Suited Colleges for ACT Score