How to Find Your Old ACT Scores

Let's say you graduated from high school, had a great job lined up, and jumped right into the workforce. After a few years without raises, though, a bachelor's degree began to sound good. As part of the college admissions process, you'll probably need your old ACT scores. Here are the steps to retrieving your old ACT scores.

Remember Which College Admissions Test You Took

If it’s been a while since you took your college admissions exam, you may not recall whether you took the ACT or SAT in high school. Here’s a hint: Your composite ACT score will be a two-digit number between 1 and 36. Your SAT score will be a three- or four-digit score.

Remember that the ACT test has changed quite a bit in over the years, so the questions have changed and the score you received would be scaled a bit differently now.

If you took the ACT, keep reading. If it was the SAT, be sure to follow the guidelines for retrieving old SAT scores.

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How to Find Old SAT Scores

By Kelly Roell

Make Sure Colleges Will Accept Old Scores

The ACT has changed significantly over the years in both content and scoring practices. For this reason, it's often not overly helpful for the admissions officers to compare a score from 1992 with scores from 2020.

Different colleges have different policies related to old ACT test scores, so you'll want to contact the admissions offices at the schools to which you are applying to find out what the exact policies are. Some colleges will accept scores taken at any time. Other schools have cutoff dates before which the scores won't be accepted. Yet other colleges don't require ACT scores for non-traditional students who have been out of high school for years.

Also be aware that over 1,200 colleges don't require standardized test scores as part of the admissions process.

Request Your Scores

There are two ways you can request your ACT scores. Previously, you could also request your old ACT scores by mail, but this option is no longer available.

• Online: If you have your ACT online account information handy, you can log in to access your scores. Your account will include a list of all the times you took the ACT and you'll be able to select which old scores you'd like to see or have sent to a college or university. You can find old ACT test scores from October 1966 until the present. If you don’t know your password or other online account details, you can email the ACT help desk, use the online chat feature, or call 319-337-1270 for assistance. 
• By phone: Order scores by phone by calling 319-337-1270. Note that only priority reports (which require an additional fee) may be ordered by phone. Phone orders also include an additional $15.00 fee per report.

Pay the Fee

• Regular report: The regular ACT score report fee for a test date after September 1, 2017, is $13 per test date per report. For ACT scores for testing prior to September 1, 2017, the price is $38 per test date per report. A regular report will be delivered in about two weeks. Check the ACT website or call to confirm the current fees.
• Priority report:  ACT no longer has a priority option for faster mailing of reports.

Additional Tips for Finding Your Old ACT Scores

Gather as much information as you can before you contact ACT for your scores.

Remember that since your scores are older, the test may have changed, The ACT score reporting service will include a letter providing that information to the institutions in which you're interested.