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.
California Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Pasadena, CA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 3% acceptance rate
- Jan 3 application deadline
Caltech is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate physics, engineering, and chemistry. Most undergrads live on the compact residential campus in Pasadena.
- SAT Range 1530-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.97
- Net Price $14,513
Minerva University
- Private 4 Year
- San Francisco, California
-
| 0 reviews
- 3% acceptance rate
Minerva is a highly selective private university known for an interdisciplinary undergraduate curriculum taught through small, seminar-style classes. Students live in successive residence halls across a rotation of global cities rather than on one traditional campus.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $13,324
Yale University
- Private 4 Year
- New Haven, CT
-
4.3 | 3 reviews
- 4% acceptance rate
- Jan 2 application deadline
Yale is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate programs in history, political science, and drama. Most undergraduates live in residential colleges that organize dining and social life.
- SAT Range 1470-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.95
- Net Price $22,408
University of Chicago
- Private 4 Year
- Chicago, IL
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- 4% acceptance rate
UChicago is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate economics and a rigorous Core Curriculum. The urban campus occupies Hyde Park on Chicago's South Side.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.95
- Net Price $28,060
Harvard University
- Private 4 Year
- Cambridge, MA
-
4.8 | 4 reviews
- 4% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Harvard is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate economics, government, and the sciences. Most upperclass students live in residential houses that organize dining and social life.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Net Price $17,525
Columbia University in the City of New York
- Private 4 Year
- New York, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- 4% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Columbia is an Ivy League university known for its undergraduate Core Curriculum, political science, and economics. The urban campus sits in Morningside Heights in Manhattan.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Net Price $22,520
Stanford University
- Private 4 Year
- Stanford, CA
-
4.8 | 6 reviews
- 4% acceptance rate
- Jan 2 application deadline
Stanford is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate computer science, engineering, and entrepreneurship. The suburban campus sits in the heart of Silicon Valley.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Avg GPA 3.96
- Net Price $25,078
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Cambridge, MA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
MIT is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences. The compact urban campus sits along the Charles River in Cambridge.
- SAT Range 1520-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.96
- Net Price $20,996
Northeastern University
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
4.7 | 6 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Northeastern is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and health sciences. The urban campus sits in Boston's Fenway neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1440-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Net Price $34,207
Dartmouth College
- Private 4 Year
- Hanover, NH
-
5.0 | 4 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Jan 3 application deadline
Dartmouth is an Ivy League college known for undergraduate government, economics, and engineering. Most students live on the residential campus in the small college town of Hanover.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Net Price $20,322
Princeton University
- Private 4 Year
- Princeton, NJ
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Princeton is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate economics, public policy, and engineering. Most undergraduates complete a required senior thesis and live in residential colleges.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Avg GPA 3.93
- Net Price $15,313
Curtis Institute of Music
- Private 4 Year
- Philadelphia, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Dec 18 application deadline
Curtis is a highly selective private music conservatory known for classical performance and orchestral training. All admitted students receive full-tuition scholarships on its compact Center City Philadelphia campus.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $23,686
University of Pennsylvania
- Private 4 Year
- Philadelphia, PA
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Jan 5 application deadline
Penn is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and engineering. The urban campus sits in Philadelphia's University City neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1510-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.95
- Net Price $23,570
Brown University
- Private 4 Year
- Providence, RI
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Jan 5 application deadline
Brown is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate economics, computer science, and the biological sciences. Most students design their own path under the Open Curriculum, which has no required core.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.94
- Net Price $26,256
Johns Hopkins University
- Private 4 Year
- Baltimore, MD
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 6% acceptance rate
- Jan 3 application deadline
Johns Hopkins is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate biomedical engineering, public health, and international studies. Most undergraduates study on the Homewood campus in north Baltimore.
- SAT Range 1520-1570
- Avg GPA 3.92
- Net Price $26,017
Duke University
- Private 4 Year
- Durham, NC
-
5.0 | 6 reviews
- 6% acceptance rate
- Jan 3 application deadline
Duke is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate public policy, biomedical engineering, and economics. The residential campus in Durham centers on Collegiate Gothic quads and a separate East Campus for first-year housing.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.94
- Net Price $21,981
Vanderbilt University
- Private 4 Year
- Nashville, TN
-
5.0 | 5 reviews
- 6% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Vanderbilt is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate education, music, and the sciences. The tree-lined urban campus is a designated arboretum in the heart of Nashville.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Avg GPA 3.89
- Net Price $25,186
Pomona College
- Private 4 Year
- Claremont, CA
-
| 0 reviews
- 7% acceptance rate
- Jan 8 application deadline
Pomona is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, biology, and politics. Students live on a residential campus and can cross-enroll across the adjoining Claremont Colleges.
- SAT Range 1490-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.89
- Net Price $19,938