California Private Colleges Ranked by Highest ACT Score

Below is a list of the 36 private colleges in California with the highest ACT Score for incoming freshmen. California Institute of Technology leads the list with an average ACT Score of 35. Alternatively, check out the SAT version of these rankings.

The ACT is a standardized test used by colleges to evaluate applicants. It is not a guarantee of success in college, but it is a strong indicator of academic potential.

List of California Private Colleges Ranked by Highest ACT Score
College	Average ACT Score
California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California	35
Harvey Mudd College Claremont, California	35
Claremont McKenna College Claremont, California	34
Pomona College Claremont, California	34
Stanford University Stanford, California	34
University of Southern California Los Angeles, California	33
Northeastern University Oakland Oakland, California	32
Occidental College Los Angeles, California	32
Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California	32
Scripps College Claremont, California	32
Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, California	30
Pepperdine University Malibu, California	30
Thomas Aquinas College Santa Paula, California	30
Chapman University Orange, California	29
Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, California	28
Westmont College Santa Barbara, California	28
Azusa Pacific University Azusa, California	27
California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, California	27

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.