Extreme Selective Colleges (under 10% acceptance)
College |
Location |
Acceptance % |
Early Policy |
SAT 25% - 75% (RW + Math) |
ACT Composite 25% - 75% |
Top 10% HS Class |
Common Data Set |
Merit Scholarship |
Palo Alto, CA |
4.8* (no longer reports) |
SCEA |
700-770 720 - 800 |
32 - 35 |
96% |
N/A |
||
Cambridge, MA |
5% |
REA |
730 - 790 730 - 800 |
32 - 35 |
95% |
N/A |
||
Princeton, NJ |
7% |
SCEA |
710 - 790 730 - 800 |
32 - 35 |
N/A |
N/A |
||
New Haven, CT |
6% |
SCEA |
720 - 770 730 - 790 |
33 - 35 |
95% |
N/A |
||
Cambridge, MA |
8% |
EA |
720 - 770 780 - 800 |
34 - 36 |
97% |
N/A |
||
NYC, NY |
6% |
ED |
1460 - 1550 |
33 - 35 |
90% |
N/A |
||
Philadelphia, PA |
9% |
ED |
700 - 760 740 - 800 |
32 - 35 |
96% |
N/A |
||
Providence, RI |
9% |
ED |
700 - 760 720 - 790 |
32 - 35 |
96% |
N/A |
||
Chicago, IL |
8% |
EA + ED |
Value |
Value |
|
|||
Pasadena, CA |
8% |
EA |
740 - 780 790 - 800 |
35 - 36 |
96% |
N/A |
||
Hanover, NH |
8% |
ED |
700 - 770 720 - 790 |
31 - 35 |
95% |
N/A |
Most Selective Colleges (10% - 20% rate)
College |
Location |
Acceptance % |
Early Policy |
SAT 25% - 75% (RW + Math) |
ACT Composite 25% - 75% |
Top 10% HS Class |
Common Data Set |
Merit Scholarship |
Notre Dame, IN |
19% |
REA (Restrictive EA) |
680 - 760 720 - 790 |
32 - 35 |
90% |
|||
Ithaca, NY |
14% |
ED |
Value |
680 - 750 710 - 790 |
83% |
N/A |
||
Durham, NC |
10% |
ED |
680 - 780 710 - 800 |
31 - 35 |
90% |
|||
Evanston, IL |
10% |
ED |
700 - 760 730 -790 |
33 - 35 |
92% |
|||
Baltimore, MD |
12% |
ED |
670 - 750 690 - 780 |
32 - 34 |
88% |
|||
St. Louis, MO |
17% |
ED |
720 - 770 750 - 800 |
32 - 34 |
87% |
|||
Houston, TX |
15% |
ED |
700 - 760 750 - 800 |
33 - 35 |
87% |
|||
Nashville, TN |
10% |
ED |
700 - 760 750 - 800 |
33 -35 |
||||
Los Angeles, CA |
16% |
N/A |
660 - 740 690 - 790 |
30 - 34 |
90% |
|||
Washington, DC |
17% |
EA |
680 - 750 690 - 780 |
31 - 34 |
89% |
Value |
||
Medford, MA |
14% |
ED |
680 - 750 700- 780 |
31- 34 |
78% |
N/A |
||
Pittsburgh, PA |
ED |
700 - 750 750 - 800 |
33 - 35 |
87% |
N/A |
Selective Private Colleges (20% - 30%)
College |
Location |
Acceptance % |
Early Policy |
SAT 25% - 75% (RW + Math) |
ACT Composite 25% - 75% |
Top 10% HS Class |
Common Data Set |
Merit Scholarship |
Chestnut Hill, MA |
31% |
EA |
650 - 720 670 - 770 |
31 - 34 |
Value |
|||
Boston, MA |
29% |
ED |
650 - 720 680 - 780 |
30 - 33 |
65% |
|||
Wellesley, MA |
25% |
EA |
1340 - 1480 (combined) |
29 - 33 |
N/A |
|||
Waltham, MA |
33% |
ED 1 + ED II |
630 - 720 650 - 780 |
29 - 33 |
56% |
|||
Atlanta, GA |
25% |
ED I + ED II |
660 - 730 690 - 790 |
31 - 34 |
84% |
|||
New York, NY |
28% |
ED I + ED II |
650 - 720 660 - 790 |
29 - 34 |
N/A |
|||
Boston, MA |
29% |
ED I + ED II |
670 - 750 690 - 790 |
32 - 34 |
77% |
|||
Winston-Salem, NC |
30% |
ED I + ED II |
650 - 710 660 - 760 |
29 - 33 |
76% |
Popular Out-of-state Public Universities
(excluding UC's)
Public university acceptance percentages can be greatly skewed by two factors: 1) in-state and out-of-state (OOS) percentages differ widely, and acceptances into competitive colleges (engineering, business, computer science) are significantly more selective. Along the same lines, average GPA and test scores are often misleadingly low for applications applying out of state, especially to the most competitive majors.
College |
Location |
Acceptance % |
Early Policy |
SAT 25% - 75% (RW + Math) |
ACT Composite 25% - 75% |
Top 10 % HS Class |
Common Data Set |
Merit Scholarship |
U Virginia (#25) |
Charlottesville, VA |
30% overall 22% out-of-state |
EA |
660 - 730 670 - 770 |
30 - 34 |
90% |
||
U Michigan (#27) |
Ann Arbor, MI |
29% overall 19% out-of-state |
EA |
660 - 730 670 - 780 |
30 - 34 |
N/A |
||
UNC - Chapel Hill (#30) |
Chapel Hill, NC |
22% overall 13% out-of-state |
EA |
640 - 720 630 - 750 |
29 - 33 |
78% |
||
Georgia Tech (#35) |
Atlanta, GA |
26% overall 19% out-of-state |
EA |
670 - 730 680 - 770 |
30 - 34 |
89% |
||
U Florida (#35) |
Gainesville, FL |
46% overall |
11/1 regular |
640 - 710 640 - 730 |
27 - 32 |
76% |
||
Williamsburg, VA |
36% overall 31% out-of-state |
ED I + ED II |
660 - 730 650 - 760 |
30 - 33 |
77% |
|||
UIUC (#46) |
Champaign, IL |
60% overall |
11/1 Priority |
510 - 610 510 - 610 |
21 - 27 |
27% |
||
UT Austin (#49) |
Austin, TX |
40% overall |
Priority 11/1 |
620 - 720 610 - 760 |
27 - 33 |
85% |
||
U Wisconsin - Madison (#49) |
Madison, WI |
53% overall |
EA |
630 - 700 670 - 780 |
27 - 32 |
N/A |
||
Ohio State - Columbus (#56) |
Columbus, OH |
54% overall |
EA |
590 - 690 650 - 760 |
27 - 32 |
63% |
||
Purdue (#56) |
West Lafayette, IN |
56% overall |
EA / Priority |
590 - 680 590 - 730 |
25 - 32 |
32% |
||
Rutgers (#56) |
New Brunswick, NJ |
56% overall |
EA |
590 - 680 600 - 720 |
N/A |
40% |
||
Penn State (#59) |
University Park, PA |
56% overall |
Rolling + EA |
580 - 660 580 - 700 |
25 - 30 |
42% |
||
U Washington - Seattle (#59) |
Seattle, WA |
45% overall |
11/15 Regular |
1320 - 1460 nonresident |
28 - 33 nonresident |
N/A |
||
U Connecticut - Storrs (#63) |
Storrs, CT |
49% overall |
12/1 Priority |
600 - 680 610 - 710 |
26 - 31 |
54% |
||
College Park, MD |
48% overall |
EA |
640 - 720 650 - 760 |
28 - 33 |
75% |
|||
UMass - Amherst (#70) |
Amherst, MA |
59% |
EA |
600 - 680 600 - 710 |
26 - 31 |
32% |
||
U Pittsburgh (#70) |
Pittsburgh, PA |
55% |
Rolling |
630 - 700 640 - 730 |
28 - 33 |
55% |
||
Minneapolis, MN |
44% |
EA |
620 - 710 650 - 770 |
26 - 31 |
50% |
|||
Virginia Tech (#76) |
Blacksburg, VA |
71% |
ED + EA |
590 - 670 590 - 690 |
25 - 30 |
38% |
||
Michigan State (#85) |
East Lansing, MI |
66% |
EA |
560 - 650 550 - 660 |
23 - 29 |
28% |
||
IU - Bloomington (#89) |
Bloomington, IN |
79% |
EA |
580 - 670 570 - 690 |
24 - 31 |
34% |
||
U of Iowa (#89) |
Iowa City, IA |
84% |
N/A |
560 - 660 560 - 670 |
23 - 28 |
30% |
||
Miami U - Oxford (#96) |
Oxford, OH |
65% overall |
EA + ED I + ED II |
590 - 670 610 - 710 |
26 - 31 |
33% |
||
U of Colorado - Boulder (#96) |
Boulder, CO |
82% overall 79% OOS |
EA |
580 - 670 570 - 690 |
25 - 30 |
29% |
||
Burlington, VT |
69% overall |
EA + Priority |
600 - 680 580 - 680 |
26 - 31 |
37% |
|||
U Oregon (#102) |
Eugene, OR |
78% |
EA |
550 - 650 530 - 640 |
22 - 28 |
22% |
||
U of Arizona (#106) |
Tuscon, AZ |
79% |
N/A |
540 - 650 530 - 660 |
21 - 28 |
31% |
Popular Private Colleges (30% - 50%)
College |
Location |
Acceptance % |
Early Policy |
SAT 25% - 75% (RW + Math) |
ACT Composite 25% - 75% |
Top 10% HS Class |
Common Data Set |
Merit Scholarships |
U Rochester (#33) |
Rochester, NY |
36% |
ED |
Value |
||||
Case Western (#42) |
Cleveland, OH |
35% |
EA + ED I + ED II |
650 - 730 700 - 790 |
30 - 34 |
66% |
||
Tulane #44 |
New Orleans, LA |
25% |
EA + ED I + ED II |
670 - 730 680 - 760 |
30 - 33 |
63% |
||
Pepperdine U (#46) |
Malibu, CA |
37% |
EA |
610 - 690 610 - 730 |
26 - 32 |
57% |
||
Troy, NY |
44% |
ED + ED II |
640 - 720 690 - 780 |
29 - 33 |
64% |
|||
Villanova (#49) |
Villanova, PA |
36% |
EA + ED |
640 - 710 660 - 760 |
30 - 33 |
72% |
||
Lehigh U (#53) |
Bethlehem, PA |
26% |
ED I + ED II |
620 - 690 650 - 750 |
29 - 33 |
58% |
||
Syracuse U (#53) |
Syracuse, NY |
52% |
ED I + ED II |
580 - 670 580 - 680 |
25 - 30 |
N/A |
||
U Miami - Coral Gables - #53 |
Coral Gables, FL |
38% |
EA + ED I + ED II |
620 - 690 630 - 740 |
29 - 32 |
55% |
||
George Washington U (#63) |
Washington, DC |
40% |
ED I + ED II |
640 - 720 640 - 720 |
29 - 32 |
61% |
||
Clark U (#66) |
Worcester, MA |
55% |
EA + ED I + ED II |
610 - 700 590 - 690 |
28 - 31 |
39% |
||
Fordham U (#70) |
Bronx, NY |
45% |
EA + ED |
620 - 700 610 - 710 |
27 - 31 |
48% |
||
American U (#78) |
Washington, DC |
26% |
ED I + ED II |
610 - 690 570 - 660 |
26 - 30 |
N/A |
||
Baylor U (#78) |
Waco, TX |
40% |
EA + ED |
600 - 680 590 - 690 |
26 - 31 |
40% |
||
Seattle, WA |
74% |
EA |
570 - 660 560 -660 |
24 - 30 |
27% |
Additional California Universities & Colleges
College |
Location |
Acceptance % |
Early Policy |
SAT 25% - 75% (RW + Math) |
ACT Composite 25% - 75% |
Top 10% HS Class |
Common Data Set |
Merit Scholarships |
Orange, CA |
54% |
EA + ED |
600 - 680 590 - 690 |
25 - 30 |
N/A |
|||
Los Angeles, CA |
54% |
EA + ED |
610 - 690 600 - 700 |
27 - 31 |
43% |
|||
Oakland, CA |
84% |
EA |
513 - 640 495 - 600 |
21 - 29 |
N/A |
|||
Eagle Rock, CA |
46% |
ED |
640 - 710 630 - 740 |
28 - 32 |
53% |
|||
Santa Clara, CA |
48% |
EA + ED + ED II |
630 - 700 640 - 740 |
28 - 32 |
49% |
|||
Aliso Viejo, CA |
38% |
EA |
590 - 670 610 - 720 |
27 - 31 |
50% |
|||
San Diego, CA |
51% |
N/A |
600 - 670 590 - 690 |
25 - 30 |
33% |
|||
San Francisco, CA |
71% |
EA + ED |
560 - 640 540 - 650 |
22 - 28 |
24% |
|||
Stockton, CA |
66% |
EA |
560 - 660 560 - 690 |
22 - 30 |
33% |
|||
U La Verne |
La Verne, CA |
48% |
Rolling + Priority |
460 - 550 470 - 550 |
20 - 23 |
19% |
||
Redlands, CA |
75% |
ED + EA |
1180 (average) |
25 (average) |
N/A 3.65 GPA avg. |
N/A |
Additional Popular STEM Universities
⭐️ = exceptional education / very high selectivity
College |
Location |
Acceptance % |
Early Policy |
SAT 25% - 75% (RW + Math) |
ACT Composite 25% - 75% |
Top 10% HS Class |
Common Data Set |
Merit Scholarship |
Terra Haute, IN |
61% |
EA |
610 - 700 660 - 780 |
27.5 - 33 |
63.5% |
|||
Cooper Union ⭐️ |
New York, NY |
13% |
ED |
650 - 740 660 - 790 |
28 - 34 |
N'A |
N/A |
|
Potsdam, NY |
66% |
Early Decision |
570 - 660 590 - 690 |
24 - 30 |
N/A |
N/A |
||
Golden, CO |
56% |
Priority 11/15 |
620 - 710 640 - 750 |
29 - 33 |
50% |
|||
Worcester, MA |
48% |
ED I + ED II |
630 - 710 680 - 760 |
29 - 33 |
63% |
|||
Hoboken, NJ |
44% |
ED I + ED II |
640 - 710 690 - 770 |
30 - 33 |
N/A |
N/A |
||
Houghton, MI |
74% |
Priority 10/15 |
580 - 680 590 - 690 |
25 - 30 |
31% |
|||
Chicago, IL |
54% |
Rolling / Priority 11/15 |
570 - 670 620 - 730 |
26 - 32 |
20% |
|||
Needham, MA |
13% |
N/A |
700 - 760 760 - 800 |
34 - 35 |
N/A |