GPA or ACT

Applying to College
1

Do colleges usually care more about GPA or ACT? My GPA is top 5% at my school, but sadly, my ACT score is only a 27.

If someone is taking very hard courses (3 AP classes and 2 honors classes) with a very high unweighted GPA, do they care more about this or their ACT score?

For example, would a college rather see a 3.9 GPA (unweighted) with the hardest classes in the school and a 26 on the ACT, or a 3.4 (unweighted) with the same classes as the previous student and a 29 or 30 on their ACT?

2

If colleges ask for both, they care about both. With your profile, I’d consider looking into some test optional colleges. http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional/state

3

The answer to your question depends upon which schools you are targeting, what is your intended major, what kind of EC’s you have and the quality of your essays. It is basically the whole package. A 3.9 uW GPA and an ACT of 26 will get into many schools. Where do you want to go?