Most Selective Colleges in the US
Acceptance rate is a rough proxy for selectivity — the lower the percentage, the more competitive the admissions process. Below 10% means well under 1 in 10 applicants gets in, which is the Ivy + Stanford + MIT tier. This list ranks every accredited 4-year college by how selective they are, ascending.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
- 1
California Institute of Technology
California · Private nonprofit
3%acceptance rate - 2
Minerva University
California · Private nonprofit
3%acceptance rate - 3
Stanford University
California · Private nonprofit
4%acceptance rate - 4
Harvard University
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
4%acceptance rate - 5
Yale University
Connecticut · Private nonprofit
4%acceptance rate - 6
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York · Private nonprofit
4%acceptance rate - 7
University of Chicago
Illinois · Private nonprofit
4%acceptance rate - 8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 9
Curtis Institute of Music
Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 10
Princeton University
New Jersey · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 11
Northeastern University
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 12
Brown University
Rhode Island · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 13
Dartmouth College
New Hampshire · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 14
University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 15
Duke University
North Carolina · Private nonprofit
6%acceptance rate - 16
Vanderbilt University
Tennessee · Private nonprofit
6%acceptance rate - 17
Johns Hopkins University
Maryland · Private nonprofit
6%acceptance rate - 18
Pomona College
California · Private nonprofit
7%acceptance rate - 19
Colby College
Maine · Private nonprofit
7%acceptance rate - 20
Bowdoin College
Maine · Private nonprofit
7%acceptance rate - 21
Washington University of Science and Technology
Virginia · Private for-profit
7%acceptance rate - 22
Swarthmore College
Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit
7%acceptance rate - 23
Northwestern University
Illinois · Private nonprofit
8%acceptance rate - 24
Rice University
Texas · Private nonprofit
8%acceptance rate - 25
Williams College
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
8%acceptance rate
Want this ranking, but for YOU?
One metric only tells part of the story. Take our 5-minute quiz and we’ll rank every school by how well it fits your specific profile — academics, cost, social life, outcomes, and environment.
Take the quiz