New York University ACT Scores: a 34 to 35 Middle 50%

New York University reports an ACT composite middle 50% of 34 to 35, with a reported midpoint of 34. That is a one point band, about as tight as this data gets, and it sits one point from the top of the scale. The overall admission rate is 9% across an undergraduate population of 28,663 in New York, NY, and the score figures describe enrolled students who submitted an ACT, not applicants. Here is what a band this compressed can tell you, and the larger list of things it cannot.

The band is one point wide: 34 to 35

New York University's reported ACT figures land in the tightest shape this data set produces. The 25th percentile is 34 and the 75th percentile is 35, one integer apart.

Read those percentiles precisely, because the wording does real work. The 25th percentile of 34 means 25% of enrolled students who submitted an ACT scored 34 or below, so roughly 75% scored above 34. The 75th percentile of 35 means 75% scored 35 or below, so roughly the top quarter scored above 35. The middle 50% is the span between the two, which here is a single point.

The reported midpoint of 34 is the midpoint of the reported range as published. It is not a verified median of the class, so call it the reported midpoint and leave it at that.

Neither percentile is a cutoff, a minimum, or a requirement. Both are descriptions of scores that turned up in an enrolled class. And they cover students who enrolled and submitted a score, not everyone who applied, and not everyone who was admitted and chose a different school.

A 34 to 35 span on a 36 point scale

Most reported ACT bands have room on both sides. This one does not. The 75th percentile of 35 sits one point below the maximum composite of 36, so the upper half of the enrolled distribution has almost nowhere to spread. Roughly the top quarter scored above 35, and on a 36 point scale the only score above 35 is 36.

The compression changes how you should think about movement. When a middle 50% runs five or six points wide, gaining two points shifts your position inside the band and there are several stops along the way. Here, two points is the distance from 33, which is below the reported range, to 35, which is the top of it. There is no gradual travel through the middle, because there is no middle.

It also limits what the band can tell you about the shape of the class. With only two integer values between the quartiles, this data cannot distinguish a group packed at 34 from a group packed at 35. All you learn is that both values appear often enough among submitters to define the two percentiles. Any story more detailed than that is not coming from these numbers.

Where a composite lands against these two numbers

Because the band is one point wide, the entire comparison fits in four rows.

The shortness of that table is the finding. You are at one edge of the band, at the other edge, above it, or below it. There is no comfortable interior to land in.

Sitting below the 25th percentile is not a rejection, and sitting at the 75th is not an acceptance. A quarter of enrolled submitters came in at 34 or lower, which tells you scores in that region were present in the class. Nothing here explains why, and nothing here supports a personal probability of admission for anyone.

If you have tested more than once, know which composite you are comparing before you compare it. A superscore built from your best sections across dates and a single sitting composite are different numbers, and this data set does not say which one any college reads. Our ACT superscore guide covers the difference, and the free ACT score calculator turns raw counts into a composite.

9% is an institution-wide rate, not your odds

The 9% figure is the overall admission rate for the whole institution, across a university with 28,663 undergraduates. It is not your probability of admission, and it cannot be converted into one.

Two consequences are worth stating plainly. First, when an institution-wide rate is that low, most applicants are not admitted, and that includes applicants whose scores sit inside or above the 34 to 35 band. A strong composite does not make a 9% rate behave like a friendly one. Second, the rate is an aggregate over an applicant pool this data set does not describe at all, so it says nothing about any individual file.

Put the band and the rate together and the honest summary is short: among enrolled NYU students who submitted an ACT, composites sat at 34 and 35, and admission overall was uncommon. That is a description of an outcome, not a recipe for producing one. If anyone tells you a specific number makes you likely or unlikely to be admitted here, they are working from something other than this data.

What you can control is whether your composite is the part of your application you would want back. That is a preparation question, and it has a concrete answer.

What the NYU data does not include

This page is built from a single source: the US Department of Education College Scorecard, drawing on IPEDS, for the most recent reported cohort. That source is narrow, so the page is narrow too. It does not include:

• Section level scores. There is no English, Math, or Reading breakdown for this school in the data. Any page giving you a per section target and calling it an NYU figure is not sourcing it from here.
• How many enrolled students submitted a score. The percentiles cover submitters only, and the share of the class they represent is not reported.
• Testing policy. Whether a score is required, optional, or considered is not in this data. Confirm that with the university directly, for your application year.
• Trends. One cohort is reported, so there is no rise or fall to read into it.
• Anything program specific. The 9% rate is institution-wide. This data carries no admission rates or score figures by school, college, or major.

For how ACT percentiles work in general, see our guide to ACT scores. For how to compare bands across a list of schools without over-reading small gaps, see college ACT scores.

Practicing toward 34 and 35 for free

The Enhanced ACT gives you English with 50 questions in 35 minutes, Math with 45 in 50, and Reading with 36 in 40. Science is optional and reported separately. Your composite is the average of English, Math, and Reading, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so every question gets a bubble.

Because the composite is an average of three sections, a band at 34 to 35 is an accuracy problem in all three at once. One weak section pulls the average down and the other two have to carry it back up. At the top of the scale there is very little room for the section you have quietly been avoiding.

Everything you need for that work is free here:

• All 1,026 original practice questions, free, with an instant explanation on every answer.
• Six full-length timed test forms, two of them free, so you practice pacing under the real section limits. See the practice test guide.
• The free score calculator and free score forecast, so you can see what your current accuracy actually produces.
• The free study plan builder, plus the free Enhanced ACT Cram Kit if your date is close. Check test dates first.
• Method, not just material: how to improve your ACT score, how to study for the ACT, and the Enhanced ACT 2025 format. Start in the app.

Prep36 is not affiliated with ACT, Inc. These are original practice questions, not official ACT questions.

What these composites cost in raw questions

A composite is not a number you score directly. On the Enhanced ACT it is the average of English, Math and Reading, so reaching one means hitting that scaled score across three sections. Science is optional and reported separately, so it is left out here.

Below is what each scaled score actually costs in correct answers, and how many questions you can afford to miss to still land on it.

Read this correctly. These are not section targets for this school. The College Scorecard reports composite percentiles only, with no section-level data, so nobody can tell you what English or Math score this school expects. What the table shows is the raw cost of a 34 and a 35 in each section, whoever you are aiming at. Build your own section goals from your own practice results.

Turn your practice raw scores into a composite with the free ACT score calculator, then drill the sections costing you the most in the free question bank.

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