If you think Ivy League schools are tough to get into — well, you aren't wrong. But right now, the hardest undergrad program to break into may be an online school called Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute. The school, whose internet seminars cap at 19 students per class, claims an acceptance rate of around — no joke — 2%.
But what are the rates among America's better-known schools — the Cornells, West Points, Notre Dames and Stanfords? In fall of 2021, elite schools began to report their acceptance rates for their graduating classes of 2025. (Still more will come over the summer and fall of 2021.) Some rates rose, but many fell drastically, thanks in part to an increase in applications. Here's the most recent list of the toughest schools to get into, based solely on the ratio of applications to acceptances.
49. Georgia Institute of Technology MIKE COMER/GETTY IMAGES
Georgia Institute of Technology, often shortened to Georgia Tech, has an acceptance rate of 22%.
48. Wesleyan University WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY VIA FACEBOOK
Wesleyan University in Connecticut has an acceptance rate of 19.4%. Applicants are not required to take the SATs or ACTs.
47. Northeastern University ADAM GLANZMAN/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Northeastern University, one of several colleges on this list located in the Boston area, has an acceptance rate of 18.1%
46. Carleton College CARLETON COLLEGE VIA FACEBOOK
Carleton College in Minnesota has a 17.4% acceptance rate.
45. Wellesley College EDUCATION IMAGES/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Wellesley College in Massachusetts has an acceptance rate of 16%.
44. Middlebury College MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE
The acceptance rate at Vermont's Middlebury College is 15.7%.
43. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art THE COOPER UNION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND ART VIA FACEBOOK
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art has a 15.1% acceptance rate.
Roughly one-quarter of the New York City school's students receive Pell Grants.
41 (TIE). University of California—Berkeley KEEGAN HOUSER/UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY
The University of California—Berkeley has a 15% acceptance rate.
Despite the school's reputation for left-leaning politics, Niche ranks Berkeley as only the 19th most liberal college in the country; American University, in Washington, D.C., is No. 1.
41 (TIE). Colorado College COLORADO COLLEGE VIA FACEBOOK
Colorado College, a small liberal arts school in Colorado Springs, has an acceptance rate of 15%.
40. University of Notre Dame UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME VIA FACEBOOK
Notre Dame has a 14.6% acceptance rate.
Niche ranks the Indiana university as a top Catholic college in the country for 2021.
39. University of California—Los Angeles UCLA VIA FACEBOOK/MATT HARBICHT
The acceptance rate at UCLA is 14%. Niche ranks its food options as No. 1 out of all colleges.
37 (TIE). Carnegie Mellon University CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY VIA FACEBOOK
Carnegie Mellon University has a 13.5% acceptance rate. The Pittsburgh institution ranked among the best colleges for information technology studies in America.
36. Claremont McKenna College CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE VIA FACEBOOK
Claremont McKenna College, in Claremont, California, has a 13.3% acceptance rate. A popular major is economics.
32 (TIE). University of Southern California UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VIA FACEBOOK
The University of Southern California has a 13% acceptance rate. Niche has ranked the Los Angeles school among the best in America for design, film and photography and student life.
32 (TIE). Washington University in St. Louis WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS VIA FACEBOOK
Washington University in St. Louis has a 13% acceptance rate.
32 (TIE). Pitzer College PITZER COLLEGE VIA FACEBOOK
The acceptance rate at Pitzer College, in California, is 13%.
32 (TIE). Emory College EMORY UNIVERSITY
Emory, in Atlanta, has an acceptance rate of 13% and is ranked by Niche as among the top Christian colleges in America.
31. Georgetown University GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY VIA FACEBOOK
Georgetown University has an 11.7% acceptance rate.
Niche rates the Washington, D.C. school highly for academics and its party scene.
27 (TIE). Tufts University TUFTS UNIVERSITY VIA FACEBOOK
Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts has an 11% acceptance rate.
Niche gives the school high marks for academics and value.
27 (TIE). United States Military Academy at West Point UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT VIA FACEBOOK
The acceptance rate at the United States Military Academy at West Point, in New York, is 11%.
27 (TIE). United States Air Force Academy UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY VIA INSTAGRAM
For the class of 2024, the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs has an 11% acceptance rate. It will release its class of 2025 rate later in 2021.
27 (TIE). Cornell University CORNELL UNIVERSITY VIA FACEBOOK
Cornell University in Ithaca, New York did not report its class of 2025 application numbers. But according to its latest reported data, it has an 11% acceptance rate.
21. United States Naval Academy UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY VIA FACEBOOK
The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland has a 9% acceptance rate.
Applicants here also usually apply to the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and the United States Coast Guard Academy.
20. Bowdoin College BOWDOIN COLLEGE VIA FACEBOOK
Brunswick, Maine's Bowdoin College has an 8.8% acceptance rate.
Pitzer College has been a top producer of Fulbright US Student fellows among undergraduate colleges for the last decade. Pitzer was the No. 1 producer of student Fulbright awardees among bachelor’s institutions for six years, from 2010 to 2015, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Since 1990, Pitzer students and recent alumni have won more than 250 Fulbright US Student awards.
An old admission rate is used to rank Cornell--- this simple
ranking is a joke! As in 2020, admission rates for all top 50 schools dramatically dropped--- Cornell does not like to play the ranking games so they refused to provide the admission rate.
were way higher than the ones in 2020 for the most prestigous schools--- the numbers could be doubled (i.e. 10% in 2019 vs 5% in 2020) due to the fact that no SAT/ACT scores were needed, and every higher school student could submit his/her application in 2020.
If you think Ivy League schools are tough to get into — well, you aren't wrong. But right now, the hardest undergrad program to break into may be an online school called Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute. The school, whose internet seminars cap at 19 students per class, claims an acceptance rate of around — no joke — 2%.
But what are the rates among America's better-known schools — the Cornells, West Points, Notre Dames and Stanfords? In fall of 2021, elite schools began to report their acceptance rates for their graduating classes of 2025. (Still more will come over the summer and fall of 2021.) Some rates rose, but many fell drastically, thanks in part to an increase in applications. Here's the most recent list of the toughest schools to get into, based solely on the ratio of applications to acceptances.
49. Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of Technology, often shortened to Georgia Tech, has an acceptance rate of 22%.
48. Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University in Connecticut has an acceptance rate of 19.4%. Applicants are not required to take the SATs or ACTs.
47. Northeastern UniversityNortheastern University, one of several colleges on this list located in the Boston area, has an acceptance rate of 18.1%
46. Carleton CollegeCarleton College in Minnesota has a 17.4% acceptance rate.
45. Wellesley CollegeWellesley College in Massachusetts has an acceptance rate of 16%.
44. Middlebury CollegeThe acceptance rate at Vermont's Middlebury College is 15.7%.
43. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and ArtThe Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art has a 15.1% acceptance rate.
Roughly one-quarter of the New York City school's students receive Pell Grants.
41 (TIE). University of California—BerkeleyThe University of California—Berkeley has a 15% acceptance rate.
Despite the school's reputation for left-leaning politics, Niche ranks Berkeley as only the 19th most liberal college in the country; American University, in Washington, D.C., is No. 1.
41 (TIE). Colorado CollegeColorado College, a small liberal arts school in Colorado Springs, has an acceptance rate of 15%.
40. University of Notre DameNotre Dame has a 14.6% acceptance rate.
Niche ranks the Indiana university as a top Catholic college in the country for 2021.
39. University of California—Los AngelesThe acceptance rate at UCLA is 14%. Niche ranks its food options as No. 1 out of all colleges.
37 (TIE). Haverford CollegeThe acceptance rate at Haverford College in Pennsylvania is 13.5%. Niche ranks it among the best liberal arts colleges in America.
37 (TIE). Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University has a 13.5% acceptance rate. The Pittsburgh institution ranked among the best colleges for information technology studies in America.
36. Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont McKenna College, in Claremont, California, has a 13.3% acceptance rate. A popular major is economics.
32 (TIE). University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California has a 13% acceptance rate. Niche has ranked the Los Angeles school among the best in America for design, film and photography and student life.
32 (TIE). Washington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. Louis has a 13% acceptance rate.
It was named by Niche as among the tops on their list of best college campuses.
32 (TIE). Pitzer CollegeThe acceptance rate at Pitzer College, in California, is 13%.
32 (TIE). Emory CollegeEmory, in Atlanta, has an acceptance rate of 13% and is ranked by Niche as among the top Christian colleges in America.
31. Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown University has an 11.7% acceptance rate.
Niche rates the Washington, D.C. school highly for academics and its party scene.
27 (TIE). Tufts UniversityTufts University in Medford, Massachusetts has an 11% acceptance rate.
Niche gives the school high marks for academics and value.
27 (TIE). United States Military Academy at West PointThe acceptance rate at the United States Military Academy at West Point, in New York, is 11%.
27 (TIE). United States Air Force AcademyFor the class of 2024, the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs has an 11% acceptance rate. It will release its class of 2025 rate later in 2021.
27 (TIE). Cornell UniversityCornell University in Ithaca, New York did not report its class of 2025 application numbers. But according to its latest reported data, it has an 11% acceptance rate.
It's named by Niche as among the best colleges for agricultural sciences in America.
26. Barnard CollegeBarnard College has a 10.4% acceptance rate. The New York City school is among the best women's colleges in the U.S., according to Niche.
25. Harvey Mudd CollegeHarvey Mudd College in Claremont, California has a 10% acceptance rate.
Students who apply there also tend to apply to Claremont McKenna College and Pomona College.
24. Tulane UniversityLocated in New Orleans, this school has an acceptance rate of 9.6%.
22 (TIE). Rice UniversityRice University has a 9.3% acceptance rate.
Niche has ranked the Houston school as among the best for studying physical therapy and sports management.
22 (TIE). Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University has a 9.3% acceptance rate.
The Evanston, Illinois university is often rated as one of the best colleges for communications in America.
21. United States Naval AcademyThe United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland has a 9% acceptance rate.
Applicants here also usually apply to the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and the United States Coast Guard Academy.
20. Bowdoin CollegeBrunswick, Maine's Bowdoin College has an 8.8% acceptance rate.
Niche has named it among the best liberal arts colleges in the country.
16 (TIE). Colby CollegeColby College in Maine has an 8% acceptance rate.
16 (TIE). Amherst CollegeAmherst College has an 8% acceptance rate.
Student who apply to the Amherst, Massachusetts college often also apply to Williams College, Bowdoin College and Middlebury College.
16 (TIE). Williams CollegeWilliams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts has an 8% acceptance rate.
The small liberal arts school has a roughly 94% graduation rate.
16 (TIE). Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College in Pennsylvania has an 8% acceptance rate.
The student-faculty ratio is 8:1.
15. Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University has an 7.4% acceptance rate.
Public health is a popular major at the Baltimore school.
14. Pomona CollegePomona College in Claremont, California has an 7.2% acceptance rate.
It's named by Niche as the best liberal arts college in America.
12 (TIE). California Institute of TechnologyCal Tech in Pasadena, California has a 7% acceptance rate.
Niche ranks Cal Tech as the best college for physics in America.
12 (TIE). University of ChicagoThe University of Chicago has a 7% acceptance rate.
Its most popular majors are economics and computer science.
11. Vanderbilt UniversityNashville's Vanderbilt University has a 6.7% acceptance rate.
It's named by Niche as the best college in America to study education.
10. Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire has a 6.2% acceptance rate.
9. University of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania has an 5.7% acceptance rate.
The Philadelphia school was recently ranked by Niche as the best college for business in America.
8. Brown UniversityBrown University in Providence, Rhode Island has an 5.4% acceptance rate.
The school is known for English studies.
7. Stanford UniversityStanford University has a 5.2% acceptance rate.
The California institution was named by Niche as the third-best college in America overall.
6. Yale UniversityYale University has a 4.6% acceptance rate. About one-fifth of the student body comes to the New Haven, Connecticut school from outside the country.
5. Duke UniversityDuke University in Durham, North Carolina has a 4.3% acceptance rate.
Duke is known for its high-quality athletics programs.
3. (TIE) Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMIT, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has a 4% acceptance rate and boasts 96 Nobel laureates.
3. (TIE) Princeton UniversityPrinceton University has a 4% acceptance rate.
Three alumni of the New Jersey university have served as Supreme Court justices.
2. Columbia UniversityNew York City's Columbia University has a 3.7% acceptance rate.
Economics is a popular major.
1. Harvard UniversityHarvard University has a paper-thin 3.4% acceptance rate.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts university ranks highly for many majors, according to Niche, including psychology, biology and political science.
个人觉得大米饭可以当T20的保底学校了。
这个好像更准确
其实看这些太吓人。到了自己头上，顺序会不一样。但是前30，前50的顺序还是差不多。所以看数据看大方向就好。
打枣的多
对EC反而没有藤校辣么看重
杜克更看重高中。可记仇了。lol
怎么这么了解亨特？
Pitzer College has been a top producer of Fulbright US Student fellows among undergraduate colleges for the last decade. Pitzer was the No. 1 producer of student Fulbright awardees among bachelor’s institutions for six years, from 2010 to 2015, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Since 1990, Pitzer students and recent alumni have won more than 250 Fulbright US Student awards.
https://www.pitzer.edu/fellowships/student-fulbright-fellows/
学校学风偏左， 学生爱搞环保 与 social activism/social Justice 等等.
在 5C 里面, Pitzer 和 Claremont McKenna 是两个极端, 一左一右.
网上有句笑话, 说 Pitzer 把 Economics 当作 Political Science 来教，而 Claremont McKenna 则把 Economics 当作 Business 来教.
ranking is a joke! As in 2020, admission rates for all top 50 schools dramatically dropped--- Cornell does not like to play the ranking games so they refused to provide the admission rate.
Clemson and VT, nowhere to be seen!
Go Tech!
were way higher than the ones in 2020 for the most prestigous schools--- the numbers could be doubled (i.e. 10% in 2019 vs 5% in 2020) due to the fact that no SAT/ACT scores were needed, and every higher school student could submit his/her application in 2020.
according to the trends from every elite school
UCB is certainly one of top universities in the world; but ranked #41 here.
这些学校不好好培养学生，心思都放在玩排名trick上了
要是觉得排名靠前的都是骗子，那可以不申请。可以从2000名开始个人认为哪个更好就申请哪个。没有必要说这些大学都是骗排名。
从宏观录取比较学生整体水平。譬如哈佛与GIT比较。我个人认为哈佛录取的学生整体水平高一个阶梯。