Most Selective Colleges
Colleges ranked by acceptance rate (2023 data). Lower = more competitive.
#1
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA · Private
3.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 13,107
Earnings: $128,566
Grad Rate: 93.2%
🌍 32% International 👩 39% Women
#2
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA · Private
3.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 56,937
SAT: 1550
Earnings: $101,817
Grad Rate: 97.3%
🌍 26% International 👩 54% Women
#3
Minerva University
San Francisco, CA · Private
3.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 9,856
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 88.8%
🌍 91% International 👩 56% Women
#4
Stanford University
Stanford, CA · Private
3.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 53,733
SAT: 1550
Earnings: $124,080
Grad Rate: 92.8%
🌍 25% International 👩 48% Women
#5
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY · Private
4.2%
Acceptance
Applicants: 57,613
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $102,491
Grad Rate: 95.0%
🌍 39% International 👩 54% Women
#6
Yale University
New Haven, CT · Private
4.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 51,803
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $100,533
Grad Rate: 96.3%
🌍 24% International 👩 53% Women
#7
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ · Private
4.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 39,644
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $110,066
Grad Rate: 97.1%
🌍 24% International 👩 48% Women
#8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA · Private
4.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 26,904
SAT: 1550
Earnings: $143,372
Grad Rate: 96.1%
🌍 29% International 👩 44% Women
#9
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private
4.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 38,631
SAT: 1550
Earnings: $91,885
Grad Rate: 94.9%
🌍 31% International 👩 46% Women
#10
Brown University
Providence, RI · Private
5.2%
Acceptance
Applicants: 51,316
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $93,487
Grad Rate: 96.0%
🌍 20% International 👩 52% Women
#11
Northeastern University
Boston, MA · Private
5.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 96,631
SAT: 1500
Earnings: $92,538
Grad Rate: 90.4%
🌍 39% International 👩 52% Women
#12
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · Private
5.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 59,465
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $111,371
Grad Rate: 96.8%
🌍 24% International 👩 56% Women
#13
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH · Private
6.2%
Acceptance
Applicants: 28,841
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $97,434
Grad Rate: 96.0%
🌍 21% International 👩 49% Women
#14
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN · Private
6.3%
Acceptance
Applicants: 45,313
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $91,565
Grad Rate: 92.7%
🌍 13% International 👩 56% Women
#15
Pomona College
Claremont, CA · Private
6.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 12,121
SAT: 1520
Earnings: $77,779
Grad Rate: 93.2%
🌍 13% International 👩 55% Women
#16
Duke University
Durham, NC · Private
6.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 46,365
SAT: 1550
Earnings: $97,800
Grad Rate: 95.8%
🌍 25% International 👩 55% Women
#17
Colby College
Waterville, ME · Private
6.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 17,786
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $80,490
Grad Rate: 90.2%
🌍 11% International 👩 51% Women
#18
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA · Private
6.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 14,287
SAT: 1530
Earnings: $80,257
Grad Rate: 94.1%
🌍 14% International 👩 52% Women
#19
Curtis Institute of Music
Philadelphia, PA · Private
7.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 446
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 94.7%
🌍 47% International 👩 46% Women
#20
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL · Private
7.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 51,769
SAT: 1530
Earnings: $89,363
Grad Rate: 95.9%
🌍 21% International 👩 55% Women
#21
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD · Private
7.6%
Acceptance
Applicants: 38,926
SAT: 1550
Earnings: $87,555
Grad Rate: 94.6%
🌍 26% International 👩 52% Women
#22
Rice University
Houston, TX · Private
7.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 31,059
SAT: 1550
Earnings: $89,718
Grad Rate: 95.7%
🌍 26% International 👩 44% Women
#23
Barnard College
New York, NY · Private
8.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 11,803
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $80,516
Grad Rate: 92.9%
🌍 14% International 👩 99% Women
#24
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME · Private
8.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 10,966
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $82,735
Grad Rate: 95.6%
🌍 7% International 👩 52% Women
#25
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · Private
8.2%
Acceptance
Applicants: 65,635
SAT: 1520
Earnings: $104,043
Grad Rate: 95.1%
🌍 26% International 👩 53% Women
#26
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public
8.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 145,903
Earnings: $82,511
Grad Rate: 92.7%
🌍 14% International 👩 58% Women 🏠 86% Domestic
#27
The Juilliard School
New York, NY · Private
9.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 2,020
Earnings: $37,827
Grad Rate: 90.0%
🌍 32% International 👩 48% Women
#28
United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, MD · Public
9.4%
Acceptance
Applicants: 14,727
SAT: 1300
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 91.8%
🌍 1% International 👩 30% Women 🏠 99% Domestic
#29
New York University
New York, NY · Private
9.4%
Acceptance
Applicants: 113,578
SAT: 1530
Earnings: $82,509
Grad Rate: 88.5%
🌍 34% International 👩 58% Women
#30
Amherst College
Amherst, MA · Private
9.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 12,727
SAT: 1500
Earnings: $77,644
Grad Rate: 93.4%
🌍 12% International 👩 54% Women
#31
Williams College
Williamstown, MA · Private
10.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 11,465
SAT: 1530
Earnings: $88,665
Grad Rate: 96.5%
🌍 10% International 👩 52% Women
#32
P
Pacific Oaks College
Pasadena, CA · Private
10.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 30
Earnings: $52,485
🌍 0% International 👩 87% Women
#33
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA · Private
10.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 80,808
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $92,498
Grad Rate: 92.0%
🌍 27% International 👩 53% Women
#34
Tufts University
Medford, MA · Private
10.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 34,003
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $83,214
Grad Rate: 93.3%
🌍 15% International 👩 59% Women
#35
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT · Private
10.4%
Acceptance
Applicants: 13,297
SAT: 1490
Earnings: $76,310
Grad Rate: 92.6%
🌍 12% International 👩 54% Women
#36
Boston University
Boston, MA · Private
10.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 80,495
SAT: 1470
Earnings: $83,238
Grad Rate: 90.0%
🌍 29% International 👩 57% Women
#37
Emory University
Atlanta, GA · Private
11.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 31,929
SAT: 1520
Earnings: $80,137
Grad Rate: 91.8%
🌍 18% International 👩 61% Women
#38
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, CA · Private
11.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 5,799
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $104,736
Grad Rate: 95.2%
🌍 15% International 👩 50% Women
#39
S
Stanbridge University
Irvine, CA · For-Profit
11.4%
Acceptance
Applicants: 2,700
Earnings: $62,144
Grad Rate: 77.2%
🌍 0% International 👩 78% Women
#40
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA · Private
11.4%
Acceptance
Applicants: 33,707
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $114,862
Grad Rate: 92.5%
🌍 42% International 👩 44% Women
#41
W
Washington University of Science and Technology
Alexandria, VA · For-Profit
11.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 174
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 54.5%
🌍 88% International 👩 37% Women
#42
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
11.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 125,910
Earnings: $92,446
Grad Rate: 92.9%
🌍 17% International 👩 54% Women 🏠 83% Domestic
#43
Hamilton College
Clinton, NY · Private
11.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 9,643
SAT: 1490
Earnings: $78,411
Grad Rate: 91.3%
🌍 8% International 👩 56% Women
#44
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY · Private
11.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 21,130
SAT: 1480
Earnings: $85,139
Grad Rate: 90.5%
🌍 8% International 👩 56% Women
#45
Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, MO · Private
12.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 32,240
SAT: 1540
Earnings: $86,182
Grad Rate: 94.5%
🌍 27% International 👩 53% Women
#46
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN · Private
12.4%
Acceptance
Applicants: 28,353
SAT: 1500
Earnings: $99,980
Grad Rate: 96.8%
🌍 14% International 👩 47% Women
#47
Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA · Private
12.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 9,988
SAT: 1490
Earnings: $62,830
Grad Rate: 87.5%
🌍 19% International 👩 54% Women
#48
Haverford College
Haverford, PA · Private
12.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 6,391
SAT: 1490
Earnings: $79,966
Grad Rate: 89.4%
🌍 11% International 👩 57% Women
#49
Bates College
Lewiston, ME · Private
13.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 8,937
SAT: 1450
Earnings: $69,498
Grad Rate: 90.6%
🌍 10% International 👩 51% Women
#50
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA · Private
13.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 4,792
SAT: 1530
Earnings: $138,687
Grad Rate: 93.8%
🌍 10% International 👩 49% Women
#51
Georgetown University
Washington, DC · Private
13.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 25,485
SAT: 1500
Earnings: $103,494
Grad Rate: 94.3%
🌍 17% International 👩 55% Women
#52
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI · Private
13.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 7,126
SAT: 1490
Earnings: $68,140
Grad Rate: 88.5%
🌍 37% International 👩 70% Women
#53
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA · Private
13.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 8,184
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $84,803
Grad Rate: 91.2%
🌍 14% International 👩 99% Women
#54
United States Air Force Academy
USAF Academy, CO · Public
13.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 9,543
SAT: 1350
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 88.1%
🌍 1% International 👩 29% Women 🏠 99% Domestic
#55
United States Military Academy
West Point, NY · Public
14.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 11,430
SAT: 1330
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 85.4%
🌍 1% International 👩 22% Women 🏠 99% Domestic
#56
S
Summit Christian College
Gering, NE · Private
14.3%
Acceptance
Applicants: 7
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 66.7%
🌍 0% International 👩 48% Women
#57
Davidson College
Davidson, NC · Private
14.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 7,347
SAT: 1455
Earnings: $81,400
Grad Rate: 91.9%
🌍 10% International 👩 53% Women
#58
Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA · Private
14.6%
Acceptance
Applicants: 27,936
SAT: 1450
Earnings: $63,268
Grad Rate: 88.9%
🌍 10% International 👩 62% Women
#59
College of the Ozarks
Point Lookout, MO · Private
14.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 2,495
SAT: 1170
Earnings: $41,592
Grad Rate: 61.3%
🌍 2% International 👩 56% Women
#60
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA · Private
15.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 36,069
SAT: 1490
Earnings: $103,937
Grad Rate: 91.0%
🌍 12% International 👩 55% Women
#61
G
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Atlanta, GA · Public
16.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 52,377
SAT: 1450
Earnings: $102,772
Grad Rate: 92.3%
🌍 26% International 👩 33% Women 🏠 74% Domestic
#62
Northeastern University Oakland
Oakland, CA · Private
16.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 17,177
SAT: 1470
Earnings: $92,538
🌍 21% International 👩 50% Women
#63
Pitzer College
Claremont, CA · Private
16.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 3,464
Earnings: $69,512
Grad Rate: 83.2%
🌍 9% International 👩 60% Women
#64
Riverside College of Health Careers
Newport News, VA · Private
16.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 30
Earnings: $66,072
Grad Rate: 62.5%
🌍 0% International 👩 91% Women
#65
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA · Public
16.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 56,528
SAT: 1490
Earnings: $86,863
Grad Rate: 95.3%
🌍 9% International 👩 55% Women 🏠 91% Domestic
#66
Denison University
Granville, OH · Private
16.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 14,580
SAT: 1380
Earnings: $67,753
Grad Rate: 80.1%
🌍 17% International 👩 52% Women
#67
G
Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science
Cincinnati, OH · Private
16.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 189
Earnings: $66,111
Grad Rate: 75.0%
🌍 0% International 👩 92% Women
#68
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT · Private
17.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 14,500
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $73,897
Grad Rate: 91.6%
🌍 11% International 👩 53% Women
#69
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA · Private
17.4%
Acceptance
Applicants: 6,820
SAT: 1490
Earnings: $94,810
Grad Rate: 94.9%
🌍 6% International 👩 51% Women
#70
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, NY · Private
17.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 12,145
SAT: 1510
Earnings: $71,366
Grad Rate: 89.1%
🌍 7% International 👩 62% Women
#71
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · Public
17.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 87,632
SAT: 1470
Earnings: $83,648
Grad Rate: 93.2%
🌍 17% International 👩 52% Women 🏠 83% Domestic
#72
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL · Private
18.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 48,286
SAT: 1400
Earnings: $75,328
Grad Rate: 84.2%
🌍 11% International 👩 55% Women
#73
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC · Public
18.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 57,902
SAT: 1470
Earnings: $72,200
Grad Rate: 92.1%
🌍 8% International 👩 61% Women 🏠 92% Domestic
#74
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
New York, NY · Private
19.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 1,790
SAT: 1480
Earnings: $83,847
Grad Rate: 80.3%
🌍 14% International 👩 48% Women
#75
Goddard College
Plainfield, VT · Private
19.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 82
Earnings: $25,552
Grad Rate: 75.0%
🌍 0% International 👩 70% Women
#76
Smith College
Northampton, MA · Private
19.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 9,869
SAT: 1480
Earnings: $64,027
Grad Rate: 89.7%
🌍 12% International 👩 98% Women
#77
Babson College
Wellesley, MA · Private
19.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 7,995
SAT: 1440
Earnings: $123,938
Grad Rate: 92.4%
🌍 34% International 👩 43% Women
#78
Webb Institute
Glen Cove, NY · Private
20.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 185
SAT: 1480
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 80.8%
🌍 0% International 👩 25% Women
#79
Colorado College
Colorado Springs, CO · Private
20.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 7,532
SAT: 1450
Earnings: $65,222
Grad Rate: 86.0%
🌍 5% International 👩 58% Women
#80
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale, MI · Private
20.6%
Acceptance
Applicants: 2,773
SAT: 1425
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 84.8%
🌍 0% International 👩 49% Women
#81
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA · Private
21.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 8,670
SAT: 1340
Earnings: $90,543
Grad Rate: 89.6%
🌍 3% International 👩 55% Women
#82
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Tallahassee, FL · Public
21.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 22,713
SAT: 1090
Earnings: $44,349
Grad Rate: 51.9%
🌍 0% International 👩 66% Women 🏠 100% Domestic
#83
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC · Private
21.6%
Acceptance
Applicants: 17,479
SAT: 1460
Earnings: $78,158
Grad Rate: 90.9%
🌍 8% International 👩 57% Women
#84
T
Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses
Angola, IN · Private
21.6%
Acceptance
Applicants: 74
Earnings: $57,165
Grad Rate: 100.0%
🌍 94% International 👩 31% Women
#85
F
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
Needham, MA · Private
21.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 928
SAT: 1530
Earnings: $129,455
Grad Rate: 92.2%
🌍 8% International 👩 48% Women
#86
Carleton College
Northfield, MN · Private
22.3%
Acceptance
Applicants: 6,464
SAT: 1500
Earnings: $75,525
Grad Rate: 91.2%
🌍 10% International 👩 51% Women
#87
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY · Private
22.9%
Acceptance
Applicants: 12,144
SAT: 1370
Earnings: $69,363
Grad Rate: 81.7%
🌍 9% International 👩 59% Women
#88
Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary
Jacksonville, TX · Private
23.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 13
Earnings: N/A
🌍 1% International 👩 19% Women
#89
University of Richmond
University of Richmond, VA · Private
23.3%
Acceptance
Applicants: 15,121
SAT: 1470
Earnings: $76,178
Grad Rate: 87.8%
🌍 10% International 👩 56% Women
#90
Johnson University Florida
Kissimmee, FL · Private
23.3%
Acceptance
Applicants: 283
SAT: 940
Earnings: $40,596
Grad Rate: 23.6%
🌍 30% International 👩 26% Women
#91
Grambling State University
Grambling, LA · Public
23.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 24,521
SAT: 970
Earnings: $41,109
Grad Rate: 32.3%
🌍 2% International 👩 66% Women 🏠 98% Domestic
#92
Helene Fuld College of Nursing
New York, NY · Private
23.8%
Acceptance
Applicants: 42
Earnings: $111,027
🌍 0% International 👩 87% Women
#93
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public
24.0%
Acceptance
Applicants: 65,375
SAT: 1390
Earnings: $71,588
Grad Rate: 91.5%
🌍 9% International 👩 57% Women 🏠 91% Domestic
#94
United States Coast Guard Academy
New London, CT · Public
24.3%
Acceptance
Applicants: 1,789
SAT: 1290
Earnings: N/A
Grad Rate: 87.9%
🌍 3% International 👩 39% Women 🏠 97% Domestic
#95
University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA · Public
24.5%
Acceptance
Applicants: 130,771
Earnings: $84,943
Grad Rate: 87.6%
🌍 18% International 👩 52% Women 🏠 82% Domestic
#96
Alcorn State University
Alcorn State, MS · Public
24.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 7,511
SAT: 920
Earnings: $36,421
Grad Rate: 46.2%
🌍 2% International 👩 67% Women 🏠 98% Domestic
#97
American Musical and Dramatic Academy
New York, NY · Private
24.7%
Acceptance
Applicants: 6,580
Earnings: $26,975
Grad Rate: 72.0%
🌍 12% International 👩 72% Women
#98
Villanova University
Villanova, PA · Private
25.1%
Acceptance
Applicants: 23,127
SAT: 1460
Earnings: $100,423
Grad Rate: 92.4%
🌍 4% International 👩 54% Women
#99
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL · Public
25.4%
Acceptance
Applicants: 74,038
SAT: 1310
Earnings: $61,675
Grad Rate: 83.0%
🌍 6% International 👩 58% Women 🏠 94% Domestic
#100
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA · Public
25.6%
Acceptance
Applicants: 121,101
Earnings: $80,735
Grad Rate: 86.0%
🌍 16% International 👩 55% Women 🏠 84% Domestic
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