Each college has its own average SAT/ACT score for admitted students, and they also consider many other factors beyond just test scores, including:
* GPA: Your high school grade point average is a crucial factor.
* Course rigor: The difficulty of your high school courses (AP, IB, Honors) matters greatly.
* Extracurricular activities: Your involvement in clubs, sports, volunteering, etc., demonstrates your well-roundedness.
* Essays and letters of recommendation: These provide personal context and insight into your character.
* Application essays: Your essays demonstrate your writing ability and critical thinking skills.
To find out what score you *should* aim for, you need to:
1. Research the colleges you're interested in: Visit their websites and look for their admission statistics. This information often includes the average SAT/ACT scores of admitted students, as well as the 25th and 75th percentile scores (the range within which the middle 50% of admitted students scored).
2. Consider your target schools, reach schools, and safety schools: You'll likely aim for higher scores for your reach schools (schools that are more competitive for you) and lower scores for safety schools (schools where your profile is likely to be very competitive).
In short, there's no magic number. Focus on doing your best, and research the specific requirements of the colleges you're applying to.