Colleges get your ACT scores when they are sent an ACT Score Report. ACT Score Reports are sent directly from ACT at your request. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind:
Colleges cannot get your ACT scores unless you request that ACT send them.
This means that you need to specifically ask that ACT send your scores to a specific college. The schools cannot request the scores directly from ACT, and no one but you can ask that they be sent.
You can send up to four ACT Score Reports out to different colleges for free.
However, you can only do this if you request these score reports at the same time that you register for the ACT, or at the same time that you’re taking the ACT. If you do not request your score reports until after you’ve taken the exam, a per-report fee will apply.
You can have Score Reports sent after you have taken the ACT.
A per-report, per-test-date fee will apply for each Score Report you request. You can see these fees here.
If you took the ACT Plus Writing, colleges will not only have access to your Writing Test score, they will also have access to your essay.
Remember, schools will only see the scores (and essay, if you took the ACT Plus Writing) for the ACT administration for which you are sending them the report; they will not see the scores for any other administration, nor will they see if you’ve taken the ACT on other occasions.