The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Ranked by acceptance rate · 1,363 of 2,406 institutions report this measure · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
#2
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
#3
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
#4
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY
- 1California Institute of TechnologyPasadena, CA · Private3.1%Compare nearby
- 2Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private3.5%Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#2
- the Highest ACT Scores#3
- Psychology#3
- the Highest SAT Averages#3
- Biological Sciences#4
- Computer Science#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#6
- English Language & Literature#8
- History#8
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#10
- Are Least Likely to Leave#18
- Social Sciences#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#24
- 3Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private3.9%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Computer Science#2
- Biological Sciences#3
- Engineering Technology#3
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#4
- Psychology#6
- the Highest SAT Averages#6
- the Highest ACT Scores#7
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#7
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#7
- Area & Ethnic Studies#8
- Social Sciences#8
- Engineering#10
- English Language & Literature#18
- Multidisciplinary Studies#22
- Are Least Likely to Leave#24
- 4Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York, NY · Private4.2%Compare nearby
Also on 14 other lists
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#3
- the Highest ACT Scores#4
- Foreign Languages#5
- the Highest SAT Averages#8
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#9
- History#16
- Mathematics & Statistics#16
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#18
- Area & Ethnic Studies#19
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#21
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#25
- Computer Science#25
- Social Sciences#25
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#25
- 5Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private4.5%Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- History#1
- English Language & Literature#5
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#7
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#7
- Computer Science#9
- Social Sciences#9
- Multidisciplinary Studies#10
- the Highest ACT Scores#11
- Are Least Likely to Leave#15
- the Highest SAT Averages#15
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#16
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#17
- Psychology#24
- 6Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private4.5%Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- Engineering#1
- English Language & Literature#1
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#3
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#3
- Public Administration#10
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#11
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#14
- the Highest SAT Averages#14
- Psychology#15
- the Highest ACT Scores#20
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#24
- 7Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private4.7%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#1
- Biological Sciences#1
- Business#1
- Liberal Arts#1
- Multidisciplinary Studies#2
- Physical Sciences#2
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#3
- the Highest SAT Averages#4
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#5
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#6
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#8
- Computer Science#10
- Engineering#11
- Mathematics & Statistics#12
- Are Least Likely to Leave#14
- 8University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private4.8%Compare nearby
- 9Brown UniversityProvidence, RI · Private5.2%Compare nearby
- 10Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · Private5.7%Compare nearby
- 11University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · Private5.9%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#2
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#4
- Communications#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#4
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#5
- Multidisciplinary Studies#5
- Business#9
- History#10
- the Highest SAT Averages#11
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#12
- Engineering#12
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#17
- Computer Science#18
- Are Least Likely to Leave#20
- Social Sciences#22
- 12Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private6.2%Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- 13Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, TN · Private6.3%Compare nearby
- 14Pomona CollegeClaremont, CA · Private6.8%Compare nearby
- 15Duke UniversityDurham, NC · Private6.8%Compare nearby
- 16Colby CollegeWaterville, ME · Private6.8%Compare nearby
- 17Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore, PA · Private6.9%Compare nearby
- 18Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · Private7.1%Compare nearby
- 19Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD · Private7.6%Compare nearby
- 20Rice UniversityHouston, TX · Private7.9%Compare nearby
- 21Barnard CollegeNew York, NY · Private8.0%Compare nearby
- 22Bowdoin CollegeBrunswick, ME · Private8.0%Compare nearby
- 23Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · Private8.2%Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Public Administration#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#11
- Psychology#11
- Communications#13
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#17
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#19
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#19
- Computer Science#20
- the Highest ACT Scores#21
- Architecture#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#22
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#23
- Are Least Likely to Leave#23
- the Highest SAT Averages#23
- Area & Ethnic Studies#25
- 24University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · Public8.7%Compare nearby
- 25United States Naval AcademyAnnapolis, MD · Public9.4%Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Acceptance rate — sorted lowest to highest
- Source variable
ADM_RATE- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Four-year, main-campus institutions awarding bachelor's degrees or higher (2,406 schools).
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded so that small-cohort medians do not distort the ranking.
- 1,363 of 2,406 institutions report this measure; the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
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- Sports at California Institute of TechnologyEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
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The Ivy League — All Eight Schools, Ranked by Selectivity
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