50 most selective colleges in America

50 most selective colleges in America

Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Stacker listed the 50 most selective colleges in the United States. The institutions are ranked according to acceptance rates.

America's most competitive colleges, ranked by acceptance rates

America's most competitive colleges, ranked by acceptance rates — While there is no shortage of exceptional colleges in the United States, there are millions of gifted kids across the nation jockeying for limited seats at some of America's top universities every year. Parents often go to great financial lengths to send their children to some of the nation's most prestigious schools, the likes of which include paying private school tuition, hiring personal tutors, or paying for test prep classes that typically cost upwards of $1,000.
Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Stacker listed the 50 most selective colleges in the United States. The institutions are ranked according to acceptance rates. Statistics pertaining to total acceptance and enrollment are provided for context. Stacker used the latest available NCES data for this story, ranking schools that received at least 1,000 applications for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Read on to see if your alma mater is among the most competitive schools in the nation today.
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#50. Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus, Georgia

#50. Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus, Georgia — - Acceptance rate: 15.96%
- Total accepted: 7,030 (44,048 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 3,453 (49.1% yield)
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#49. University of Notre Dame, Indiana

#49. University of Notre Dame, Indiana — - Acceptance rate: 15.07%
- Total accepted: 3,562 (23,642 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 2,059 (57.8% yield)
Ssantera // Wikimedia Commons

#48. Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York

#48. Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York — - Acceptance rate: 14.68%
- Total accepted: 393 (2,678 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 210 (53.4% yield)
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#47. University of California-Berkeley, California

#47. University of California-Berkeley, California — - Acceptance rate: 14.44%
- Total accepted: 16,295 (112,843 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 6,931 (42.5% yield)
Lrd1rocha // Wikimedia Commons

#46. Colorado College, Colorado

#46. Colorado College, Colorado — - Acceptance rate: 14.25%
- Total accepted: 1,564 (10,975 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 620 (39.6% yield)
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Jeffrey Beall // Wikimedia Commons

#45. Hamilton College, New York

#45. Hamilton College, New York — - Acceptance rate: 14.07%
- Total accepted: 1,320 (9,380 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 533 (40.4% yield)
Bill Clark // Getty Images

#44. Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania

#44. Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania — - Acceptance rate: 13.54%
- Total accepted: 4,453 (32,896 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,896 (42.6% yield)
Amy Lutz // Shutterstock

#43. Middlebury College, Vermont

#43. Middlebury College, Vermont — - Acceptance rate: 13.45%
- Total accepted: 1,601 (11,906 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 680 (42.5% yield)
Funuk // Wikimedia Commons

#42. Emory University, Georgia

#42. Emory University, Georgia — - Acceptance rate: 13.05%
- Total accepted: 4,364 (33,435 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,494 (34.2% yield)
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#41. Washington University in St Louis, Missouri

#41. Washington University in St Louis, Missouri — - Acceptance rate: 13.00%
- Total accepted: 4,373 (33,634 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,980 (45.3% yield)
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Minbaili // Wikimedia Commons

#40. New York University, New York

#40. New York University, New York — - Acceptance rate: 12.96%
- Total accepted: 12,380 (95,517 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 6,097 (49.2% yield)
littlenySTOCK // Shutterstock

#39. University of Southern California, California

#39. University of Southern California, California — - Acceptance rate: 12.51%
- Total accepted: 8,884 (71,031 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 3,668 (41.3% yield)
Brion Vibber // Wikimedia Commons

#38. United States Air Force Academy, Colorado

#38. United States Air Force Academy, Colorado — - Acceptance rate: 12.43%
- Total accepted: 1,453 (11,687 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,091 (75.1% yield)
U.S. Air Force // Wikimedia Commons

#37. St. Andrews University, North Carolina

#37. St. Andrews University, North Carolina — - Acceptance rate: 12.29%
- Total accepted: 266 (2,164 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 261 (98.1% yield)
Detamblelibrary // Wikimedia Commons

#36. Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

#36. Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. — - Acceptance rate: 11.98%
- Total accepted: 3,311 (27,629 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,585 (47.9% yield)
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Patrickneil // Wikimedia Commons

#35. Barnard College, New York

#35. Barnard College, New York — - Acceptance rate: 11.47%
- Total accepted: 1,192 (10,395 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 769 (64.5% yield)
Billy Hathorn // Wikimedia Commons

#34. Tufts University, Massachusetts

#34. Tufts University, Massachusetts — - Acceptance rate: 11.43%
- Total accepted: 3,566 (31,198 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,800 (50.5% yield)
Jellymuffin40 // Wikimedia Commons

#33. Claremont McKenna College, California

#33. Claremont McKenna College, California — - Acceptance rate: 11.24%
- Total accepted: 633 (5,632 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 358 (56.6% yield)
Craig Stanfill // Wikimedia Commons

#32. University of California-Los Angeles, California

#32. University of California-Los Angeles, California — - Acceptance rate: 10.77%
- Total accepted: 15,028 (139,489 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 6,584 (43.8% yield)
Josh Lee // Wikimedia Commons

#31. United States Military Academy, New York

#31. United States Military Academy, New York — - Acceptance rate: 10.66%
- Total accepted: 1,488 (13,955 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,201 (80.7% yield)
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Teddy Wade // Wikimedia Commons

#30. Grinnell College, Iowa

#30. Grinnell College, Iowa — - Acceptance rate: 10.54%
- Total accepted: 1,108 (10,513 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 471 (42.5% yield)
Aureliusxv // Wikimedia Commons

#29. Stanbridge University, California

#29. Stanbridge University, California — - Acceptance rate: 10.50%
- Total accepted: 173 (1,648 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 161 (93.1% yield)
Monirb // Wikimedia Commons

#28. Harvey Mudd College, California

#28. Harvey Mudd College, California — - Acceptance rate: 9.99%
- Total accepted: 473 (4,737 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 225 (47.6% yield)
Bovineone // Wikimedia Commons

#27. Tulane University of Louisiana, Louisiana

#27. Tulane University of Louisiana, Louisiana — - Acceptance rate: 9.63%
- Total accepted: 4,385 (45,525 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 2,027 (46.2% yield)
Fotoluminate LLC // Shutterstock

#26. Rice University, Texas

#26. Rice University, Texas — - Acceptance rate: 9.48%
- Total accepted: 2,802 (29,544 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,226 (43.8% yield)
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Daderot // Wikimedia Commons

#25. Colby College, Maine

#25. Colby College, Maine — - Acceptance rate: 8.87%
- Total accepted: 1,407 (15,857 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 667 (47.4% yield)
Nick Kline // Wikimedia Commons

#24. Williams College, Massachusetts

#24. Williams College, Massachusetts — - Acceptance rate: 8.83%
- Total accepted: 1,099 (12,452 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 574 (52.2% yield)
Beyond my Ken // Wikimedia Commons

#23. Bowdoin College, Maine

#23. Bowdoin College, Maine — - Acceptance rate: 8.82%
- Total accepted: 822 (9,325 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 517 (62.9% yield)
Daderot // Wikimedia Commons

#22. Amherst College, Massachusetts

#22. Amherst College, Massachusetts — - Acceptance rate: 8.74%
- Total accepted: 1,224 (13,999 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 515 (42.1% yield)
Kenneth C. Zirkel // Wikimedia Commons

#21. Cornell University, New York

#21. Cornell University, New York — - Acceptance rate: 8.69%
- Total accepted: 5,852 (67,380 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 3,718 (63.5% yield)
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Notyourbroom // Wikimedia Commons

#20. United States Naval Academy, Maryland

#20. United States Naval Academy, Maryland — - Acceptance rate: 8.45%
- Total accepted: 1,374 (16,265 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,183 (86.1% yield)
Daniel J. McLain // Wikimedia Commons

#19. Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania

#19. Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania — - Acceptance rate: 7.79%
- Total accepted: 1,013 (13,012 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 454 (44.8% yield)
Tlönorbis // Wikimedia Commons

#18. Johns Hopkins University, Maryland

#18. Johns Hopkins University, Maryland — - Acceptance rate: 7.52%
- Total accepted: 2,972 (39,515 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,420 (47.8% yield)
Lester Spence // Wikimedia Commons

#17. The Juilliard School, New York

#17. The Juilliard School, New York — - Acceptance rate: 7.43%
- Total accepted: 174 (2,342 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 110 (63.2% yield)
Paul Masck // Wikimedia Commons

#16. Vanderbilt University, Tennessee

#16. Vanderbilt University, Tennessee — - Acceptance rate: 7.14%
- Total accepted: 3,368 (47,152 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,626 (48.3% yield)
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Vortex895 // Wikimedia Commons

#15. Northwestern University, Illinois

#15. Northwestern University, Illinois — - Acceptance rate: 6.97%
- Total accepted: 3,321 (47,636 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 2,086 (62.8% yield)
Madcoverboy // Wikimedia Commons

#14. Pomona College, California

#14. Pomona College, California — - Acceptance rate: 6.64%
- Total accepted: 771 (11,620 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 451 (58.5% yield)
OfficialPomonaCollege // Wikimedia Commons

#13. University of Chicago, Illinois

#13. University of Chicago, Illinois — - Acceptance rate: 6.48%
- Total accepted: 2,460 (37,974 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 2,053 (83.5% yield)
Crimsonmaroon // Wikimedia Commons

#12. Dartmouth College, New Hampshire

#12. Dartmouth College, New Hampshire — - Acceptance rate: 6.17%
- Total accepted: 1,750 (28,356 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,221 (69.8% yield)
Kane5187 // Wikimedia Commons

#11. Duke University, North Carolina

#11. Duke University, North Carolina — - Acceptance rate: 5.89%
- Total accepted: 2,927 (49,703 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,744 (59.6% yield)
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Ildar Sagdejev // Wikimedia Commons

#10. University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania

#10. University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania — - Acceptance rate: 5.87%
- Total accepted: 3,304 (56,332 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 2,418 (73.2% yield)
Teutonia25 // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Brown University, Rhode Island

#9. Brown University, Rhode Island — - Acceptance rate: 5.51%
- Total accepted: 2,568 (46,568 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,705 (66.4% yield)
Dale182 // Wikimedia Commons

#8. Yale University, Connecticut

#8. Yale University, Connecticut — - Acceptance rate: 5.31%
- Total accepted: 2,509 (47,240 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,786 (71.2% yield)
Ragesoss // Wikimedia Commons

#7. Princeton University, New Jersey

#7. Princeton University, New Jersey — - Acceptance rate: 4.38%
- Total accepted: 1,647 (37,601 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,290 (78.3% yield)
Carol M. Highsmith // Wikimedia Commons

#6. Columbia University in the City of New York, New York

#6. Columbia University in the City of New York, New York — - Acceptance rate: 4.13%
- Total accepted: 2,524 (61,110 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,641 (65.0% yield)
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Bronxbombr21 // Wikimedia Commons

#5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts

#5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts — - Acceptance rate: 4.11%
- Total accepted: 1,365 (33,240 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,177 (86.2% yield)
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology // Wikimedia Commons

#4. Harvard University, Massachusetts

#4. Harvard University, Massachusetts — - Acceptance rate: 4.01%
- Total accepted: 2,318 (57,786 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,951 (84.2% yield)
Bostonian13 // Wikimedia Commons

#3. Stanford University, California

#3. Stanford University, California — - Acceptance rate: 3.95%
- Total accepted: 2,190 (55,471 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 1,757 (80.2% yield)
Jawed Karim // Wikimedia Commons

#2. California Institute of Technology, California

#2. California Institute of Technology, California — - Acceptance rate: 3.92%
- Total accepted: 510 (13,026 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 270 (52.9% yield)
Antony-22 // Wikimedia Commons

#1. Minerva University, California

#1. Minerva University, California — - Acceptance rate: 1.02%
- Total accepted: 256 (25,026 total applicants)
- Total enrolled: 186 (72.7% yield)
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