How Good is a 35 on the ACT?

A 35 on the ACT exam is undeniably impressive, putting you near the pinnacle of all test-takers. This guide explains just how good a 35 is by covering percentile rank, college admissions, scholarships, and real-world value. You'll also find a few frank takes—where a 35 helps a lot, and where it surprisingly doesn't.

Understanding Your 35 ACT Score

Scoring a 35 out of 36 places you in the 99th percentile nationwide. In plain terms, you outscored roughly 99% of students who sat for the test.

Only a very small fraction of test-takers earn a 35 in a given year. That rarity alone makes it a strong credential and signals excellent command of the tested skills.

A 35 also tracks closely with a top-end SAT result. While conversions vary slightly by source, a 35 is often discussed as comparable to a mid-1500s SAT. The headline is simple: this is elite territory.

College Admissions Prospects

With a 35 ACT, you're a serious contender at virtually every U.S. college. At most institutions, it meets or exceeds the typical admitted-student range and shows that you've mastered the foundational material.

At ultra-selective universities—think Ivy League, Stanford, MIT—a 35 usually sits within the middle 50% of admitted students. That's good news, because it clears the academic bar those schools expect.

It also means something counterintuitive. At the very top schools, a 35 isn't shocking; it's common among strong applicants. Your test score won't hurt you anywhere, but it also won't carry the entire application at places with single-digit admit rates.

So what moves the needle? A demanding course load, top grades, original extracurricular impact, and persuasive essays. Strong recommendations and a clear, authentic narrative matter too. In other words, your 35 is the gateway, not the guarantee.

Scholarship Opportunities

A 35 can unlock generous merit aid. Many colleges publish scholarship grids or bands in which a 34–36 ACT, paired with a strong GPA, qualifies for their highest automatic or competitive awards.

Flagship public universities often grant substantial tuition reductions at these score levels. Private colleges may use high scores to sweeten aid packages for top applicants, especially when they're building an honors cohort.

National and private scholarships that consider academic excellence will view a 35 favorably as well. Even when a program doesn't explicitly list ACT cutoffs, being in the top 1% strengthens your application portfolio—particularly in selective competitions that weigh academic distinction, leadership, and service.

If you're merit-aid focused, pay attention to deadlines and details. Some scholarships require early action applications, separate forms, campus visits, or interviews. With a 35 in hand, those extra steps are often worth it.

Ultra-Selective Schools and Score Inflation

Here's a reality check. At the most selective schools, a 35 has become "necessary but not sufficient." Over the last decade, the number of students scoring in the mid-30s has grown. More high scorers means your 35, while excellent, is less distinctive at the very top.

That doesn't diminish your achievement. It does change strategy. If your target list leans ultra-selective, treat the score as a baseline and channel your energy into the differentiators: unusual academic pursuits, research, creative work, competitive accomplishments, or community impact that show initiative and depth.

A common question is whether chasing a 36 meaningfully improves odds. For most applicants, spending dozens of hours to move from 35 to 36 is unlikely to change outcomes if other parts of the application lag. That same time invested in a standout project, essay, or leadership initiative typically yields a larger admissions return.

One more bold take: score inflation makes testing less useful as a tie-breaker at the top. When thousands of applicants have near-perfect numbers, committees rely more heavily on context, character, and contribution. Think beyond the scantron.

Real-World Value of an ACT 35

Outside of admissions and scholarships, how much does a 35 matter? Less than you might think.

Most employers never ask. Once you're in college, internships and jobs are primarily driven by major, coursework, projects, internships, referrals, and interviews. Your ACT score rarely appears on a résumé, and when it does, it's usually in the earliest recruiting cycles.

There are exceptions. A handful of finance and consulting firms have, at times, asked new-grad candidates for SAT or ACT scores as an easy standardized datapoint. If you're headed down those tracks, keep your 35 handy—you might be asked. But even in those industries, the practice isn't universal and continues to fade as companies focus on performance signals more relevant to work.

Blunt truth: the ACT measures college readiness, not career readiness. It captures important academic and reasoning skills, but it can't tell an employer whether you can manage a client, debug production code, or lead a team through a tough deadline. Over time, your portfolio, recommendations, and outcomes dwarf a high school test result.

That said, the credential isn't meaningless. A 35 can be valuable for tutoring or education-related side work. It can also give you entry to campus honors programs with priority registration, special seminars, or research support—advantages that can compound into stronger internships and graduate-level opportunities.

Practical Next Steps if You Have (or Are Aiming for) a 35

Lock in your strengths. If you already have a 35, verify that your section subscores align with your target majors. A 35 with a lower Math subscore might be fine for humanities but could invite questions for certain engineering programs—offset with rigorous coursework and strong grades.

Invest beyond the test. If your score sits at 35, consider the opportunity cost of chasing 36. Often, deepening an extracurricular, writing a truly memorable essay, or launching a meaningful initiative yields more impact.

Target scholarships strategically. Identify colleges where a 35 unlocks clear merit tiers. Don't forget honors programs, which can offer early registration, research funding, and faculty mentorship.

Curate your college list. Include reaches, matches, and likelies where your 35 and transcript land you at or above the median for admitted students. Super-selective dreams are great—just ensure you have excellent options across the spectrum.

Contextualize your score. In applications and interviews, let the 35 speak for itself while you emphasize the story only you can tell—what you built, learned, solved, and contributed.

Controversial (but Helpful) Opinions

A 35 isn't a personality. It proves you're great at a specific kind of academic task. It does not by itself demonstrate creativity, leadership, or resilience. Admissions readers look for those qualities elsewhere.

Test-optional doesn't always mean test-irrelevant. For many selective colleges, a strong submitted score can still help—especially when paired with a challenging transcript. Policies vary; strategy should, too.

Chasing perfection can backfire. If test prep crowds out meaningful growth—advanced classes, research, competitions, art, service—the application can end up numerically flawless but narratively thin.

The best "return" on a 35 is what it buys you in time. Use the confidence and admissions leverage it provides to pursue depth: capstone projects, internships, or leadership that you wouldn't have had bandwidth for if you were still grinding practice tests.