Most Selective U.S. Colleges
CollegeSimply ranks 249 four-year colleges that accept 50% or fewer of applicants, sorted by acceptance rate from lowest to highest. These are the most selective schools in the U.S.
California Institute of Technology is the most selective, accepting just 3% of 13,856 applicants. Also highly selective: Minerva University, Yale University and University of Chicago.
Selectivity does not always equal academic difficulty. Some schools admit a small share of applicants because demand exceeds capacity, not because admission standards are extreme. If you need safety schools, see our highest acceptance rate colleges. For academically demanding options, explore colleges with the highest SAT, highest ACT, and highest GPA averages.
Bowdoin College
- Private 4 Year
- Brunswick, ME
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 7% acceptance rate
- Jan 5 application deadline
Bowdoin is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate government, environmental studies, and the sciences. The historic campus sits in the coastal college town of Brunswick.
- SAT Range 1470-1550
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $22,228
Colby College
- Private 4 Year
- Waterville, ME
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 7% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Colby is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies, economics, and government. The residential campus sits on Mayflower Hill above Waterville.
- SAT Range 1460-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Net Price $16,219
Swarthmore College
- Private 4 Year
- Swarthmore, PA
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- 7% acceptance rate
- Jan 4 application deadline
Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The suburban campus is a designated arboretum just outside Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1490-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Net Price $22,469
Northwestern University
- Private 4 Year
- Evanston, IL
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 8% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Northwestern is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate journalism, communications, and theater. The Evanston campus runs along Lake Michigan just north of Chicago.
- SAT Range 1510-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.92
- Net Price $26,830
Williams College
- Private 4 Year
- Williamstown, MA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 8% acceptance rate
- Jan 10 application deadline
Williams is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics and Oxford-style tutorials. Most students live on the rural campus in the Berkshires town of Williamstown.
- SAT Range 1490-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.94
- Net Price $15,894
Rice University
- Private 4 Year
- Houston, TX
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 8% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Rice is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, architecture, and the natural sciences. Most undergraduates live in residential colleges that organize dining and social life on the urban Houston campus.
- SAT Range 1510-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.96
- Net Price $23,589
University of California Los Angeles
- Public 4 Year
- Los Angeles, CA
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- 9% acceptance rate
- Nov 30 application deadline
UCLA is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate film, television, and theater. The urban Westwood campus also has a nationally known basketball program.
- SAT Range 1300-1530
- Avg GPA 3.92
- Net Price $14,512
United States Naval Academy
- Public 4 Year
- Annapolis, Maryland
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 9% acceptance rate
- Jan 31 application deadline
Naval Academy is a highly selective federal service academy known for undergraduate engineering and oceanography. The historic campus sits on the Severn River in Annapolis.
- SAT Range 1210-1410
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.8
- Net Price -
Amherst College
- Private 4 Year
- Amherst, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 9% acceptance rate
- Jan 2 application deadline
Amherst is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, English, and political science. Students follow an open curriculum, and the campus sits in a classic New England college town.
- SAT Range 1490-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Net Price $19,049
Barnard College
- Private 4 Year
- New York, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 9% acceptance rate
- Jan 4 application deadline
Barnard is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate English, political science, and psychology. The urban Morningside Heights campus sits beside Columbia University, where students can cross-register for courses.
- SAT Range 1470-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
- Net Price $26,407
Cornell University
- Private 4 Year
- Ithaca, NY
-
4.0 | 4 reviews
- 9% acceptance rate
- Jan 2 application deadline
Cornell is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate engineering, hotel administration, and agriculture and life sciences. The hillside campus overlooks Cayuga Lake in the college town of Ithaca.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Net Price $26,361
The Juilliard School
- Private 4 Year
- New York, NY
-
4.0 | 4 reviews
- 9% acceptance rate
- Dec 1 application deadline
Juilliard is a highly selective private conservatory known for undergraduate music, dance, and drama. The urban campus sits at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $45,099
New York University
- Private 4 Year
- New York, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 9% acceptance rate
NYU is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate business, film, and the performing arts. The urban campus is centered in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.
- SAT Range 1480-1560
- Avg GPA 3.79
- Net Price $30,325
Claremont McKenna College
- Private 4 Year
- Claremont, CA
-
| 0 reviews
- 10% acceptance rate
- Jan 5 application deadline
Claremont McKenna is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, government, and international relations. Students live on a residential campus that shares classes and facilities with the neighboring Claremont Colleges.
- SAT Range 1470-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.89
- Net Price $33,895
University of Southern California
- Private 4 Year
- Los Angeles, CA
-
4.2 | 5 reviews
- 10% acceptance rate
USC is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate film, communications, and business. The urban Los Angeles campus has a large Greek presence and longstanding ties to the entertainment industry.
- SAT Range 1450-1550
- Avg GPA 3.83
- Net Price $43,412
University of California Berkeley
- Public 4 Year
- Berkeley, CA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 11% acceptance rate
- Nov 30 application deadline
Berkeley is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate computer science, engineering, and chemistry. The hillside campus overlooks San Francisco Bay in the East Bay city of Berkeley.
- SAT Range 1310-1530
- Avg GPA 3.87
- Net Price $16,538
Emory University
- Private 4 Year
- Atlanta, GA
-
4.8 | 5 reviews
- 11% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Emory is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and the biological sciences. The wooded campus sits in Atlanta's Druid Hills neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1470-1550
- Avg GPA 3.8
- Net Price $27,303
University of Notre Dame
- Private 4 Year
- Notre Dame, IN
-
4.1 | 7 reviews
- 11% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Notre Dame is a highly selective private Catholic university known for undergraduate business, engineering, and architecture. The residential campus near South Bend is centered on the Golden Dome and Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
- SAT Range 1455-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Net Price $29,300