How Many Times Should I Take the ACT?

Maybe you’re about to take the ACT for the first time, or maybe your first score wasn’t quite what you hoped for. Either way, you’re asking a question that comes up for almost every student: How many times should I take the ACT?

Here’s the short answer: plan to take the ACT twice. ACT’s own research shows that students typically test 2 to 3 times to reach their goals, and the biggest score jump usually happens between the first and second sitting. There is no limit on how many times you can take the test, but after about three attempts, the gains tend to get small.

There’s one more thing to know in 2026: the ACT itself changed. The current version of the test (ACT calls it the “enhanced ACT”) has a Composite score built from just English, Math, and Reading, with Science as an optional add-on. That changes the retake math in ways most advice on the internet hasn’t caught up with. We’ll cover all of it below.

ACT Retakes at a Glance

Should I Retake the ACT?

Before we get into why two sittings is the sweet spot, let’s figure out whether a retake makes sense for you at all. These are the questions I would walk through with any student facing this decision.

Is This Your First Time Taking the ACT?

If you have time to retake the ACT before your college applications are due, you should probably plan on it. According to ACT, students who initially score between 13 and 29 raise their Composite score by an average of one point when they retest, and first-to-second-sitting improvement is where most students see their biggest gain.

One point may not sound like much, but it’s an average, and it includes students who didn’t change how they prepared. With focused prep between sittings, your odds of a meaningful jump go way up. And even a single point can matter for admissions and scholarship cutoffs.

Did You Take the ACT Without Much Preparation?

Then a retake is almost certainly worth it. You’ve already paid for one “diagnostic test” — now make the second sitting count. Structured prep makes you fully familiar with the test’s content, teaches you test-specific strategy and pacing, and builds confidence. If you’re not sure how to structure your studying, Magoosh’s ACT study plans lay out day-by-day schedules for whatever time frame you have.

Is Your Current Score “Good Enough”?

After you receive your scores, evaluate them honestly against your target schools. Look up the middle 50% ACT range for admitted students at each college on your list. If your score is in or above that range, your time might be better spent on your essays, grades, and activities than on another round of test prep.

But if your goals require a higher score, go after it. Our ACT score calculator can help you figure out how many more raw points you’d need in each section to hit your target Composite.

Pro tip: Not sure where you stand? Take a free ACT practice test before you commit to a retake. A realistic baseline tells you whether the gap to your target score is one focused month of prep or a longer climb.

Are You a Sophomore or Junior?

The ACT tests some material, especially in Math, that many students don’t cover until junior year. So if you took the test as a sophomore or early junior, the odds are good that you’ll score higher at the end of junior year or the beginning of senior year, simply because you’ll have learned more. Summer between junior and senior year is a great window for focused prep.

So How Many Times Should I Take the ACT?

For most students, the answer is one to three times, with two as the sweet spot.

If you’re happy with your first score, you’re done. One and done is a perfectly good outcome.

If you’re not, plan a second sitting with real prep in between. That’s where the data says your biggest improvement lives. A third attempt makes sense if you’re still short of a specific admissions or scholarship cutoff and you know what you’ll do differently this time.

Technically, there’s no cap on attempts. ACT states there is no limit to how many times you can take the test. The practical limits are the ones that matter: the ACT is offered seven times a year at national test centers, each core sitting costs $70, and your application deadlines set the real endpoint. Past three or four attempts, most students see diminishing returns, and that time and money usually does more for your applications somewhere else.

How Today’s ACT Changes Your Retake Strategy

The ACT that students take today is different from the one described in most older retake advice. Since September 2025, every national ACT uses the enhanced format: a shorter test where the Composite score is the average of English, Math, and Reading only. Science is now an optional add-on section with its own separate score, and it does not affect your Composite.

Here’s what that means when you’re deciding on a retake.

Your superscore is built from three sections

Most colleges superscore the ACT, and ACT now calculates your superscore automatically once you’ve taken the test more than once. The superscore Composite uses your best English, Math, and Reading scores across all of your test dates. Here’s the math with example scores from two sittings:

Notice what this does to retake risk: a weaker section on your retake can’t erase a stronger section from an earlier date. For superscoring colleges, a retake is close to a no-lose proposition.

And if you took the ACT back when Science was part of the Composite, good news: your best section scores can come from any test date, old format or new. Science simply no longer factors into newly calculated superscores.

Should you add Science to your retake?

Since Science is optional, a retake is a chance to make a deliberate choice. Take Science if your target colleges or scholarship programs recommend it, if you’re applying to STEM programs (Science pairs with Math to produce a STEM score), or if your state requires it for school-day testing. Skip it if none of those apply — you’ll save $5 and about 40 minutes of test-day stamina, and your Composite won’t know the difference.

Can you retake just one section?

No. You may still run into articles describing ACT “section retesting,” a plan announced in 2019 that would have let students redo a single section. That feature was shelved and has never launched. As of the 2026–2027 test year, a retake means sitting for the full test, and superscoring is how your best individual sections get counted.

Why Twice Is (Usually) Enough

If you’re just starting your ACT journey, twice will probably do it. For a lot of students, the ideal process looks like this:

1. Establish a baseline and build a study routine. A practice test tells you your starting point and which sections need the most work.
2. Take the ACT for the first time, typically in the spring of junior year.
3. Analyze your score report. Look at section scores, not just the Composite. Where did the points actually go?
4. Register for your retake and build a targeted study plan around your weakest areas.
5. Study over the summer between junior and senior year, when you have the most uninterrupted time.
6. Retake the ACT at the beginning of senior year.

With this plan, your score will most likely end up where you want it to be, with time to spare before application deadlines.

Planning for Your Second ACT

Here’s where timing gets important. Many students take their second ACT in the fall of senior year, right as college application deadlines approach. Scores are typically released about two to four weeks after test day, so a late fall sitting can leave you sending scores before you’ve seen them.

The fix is to pay close attention to fall test dates. For the 2026–2027 cycle, the fall national dates are September 19 and October 17, 2026. If you want to see your scores, and possibly squeeze in one more attempt, before regular decision deadlines, September is the safer choice. It also comes early in the school year, before homework, sports, and activities hit full intensity.

Pro tip: Registration closes about five weeks before each test date. If you’re a junior now and planning a senior-fall retake, put the registration deadline on your calendar, not just the test date. September sittings sneak up on people over the summer.

Third Time’s a Charm

If you’ve taken the ACT twice and still haven’t hit your target, you’re not alone, and a third sitting is completely reasonable. The key is to change something, not just repeat the same preparation and hope. Here’s how to make round three your best (and last):

• If one section is holding you back, aim your prep at that section. Thanks to superscoring, your strong sections from earlier dates are already banked. You’ll still take the full test, so keep the other sections warm with light review, but spend most of your energy where the points are.
• If your whole score is stuck, change your approach. More hours with the same materials rarely moves a plateaued score. Start with a diagnostic to find specific weaknesses, switch up your practice materials, and drill full timed sections — pacing problems often masquerade as content problems.

Won’t My Dream College See My Lower Score?

Not unless you want them to, in most cases. The ACT lets you choose which test date’s scores to send to each college, so a rough first sitting can stay between you and your MyACT account. A small number of highly selective schools do ask applicants to submit all of their scores, so check the testing policy of each college on your list.

And even if a college does see multiple sittings, that’s fine. Admissions offices evaluate your best performance, most superscore, and an upward trend reads as persistence, not weakness. No admissions officer is rejecting a student for needing two tries to hit a 30.

The Bottom Line

Take the ACT once, prepared. If the score meets your goals, celebrate and move on. If not, take it again after targeted prep, and remember that with today’s three-section Composite and automatic superscoring, a retake carries very little downside. Two sittings gets most students where they need to be; three is the practical ceiling for almost everyone.

Now that you know the plan, the next step is making your retake count. Magoosh ACT prep is built for the current version of the test, with a smart diagnostic to find your weak spots, lessons and practice for every section, and a score guarantee to back it up.