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.
Webb Institute
- Private 4 Year
- Glen Cove, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- 14% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Webb Institute is a highly selective private college known for undergraduate naval architecture and marine engineering. The waterfront campus overlooks Long Island Sound.
- SAT Range 1430-1530
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Net Price $21,966
Washington and Lee University
- Private 4 Year
- Lexington, VA
-
4.3 | 3 reviews
- 14% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Washington and Lee is a highly selective private liberal arts university known for undergraduate business, journalism, and politics. Most undergrads live under a strict student-run honor system on the historic campus in Lexington.
- SAT Range 1430-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.87
- Net Price $23,055
Grinnell College
- Private 4 Year
- Grinnell, IA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 15% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Grinnell is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for an open curriculum and undergraduate work in the sciences and social sciences. Most undergrads live on the residential campus in the small town of Grinnell.
- SAT Range 1410-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.89
- Net Price $34,363
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Public 4 Year
- Chapel Hill, NC
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 15% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
UNC-Chapel Hill is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate journalism, business, and public health. Chapel Hill is a classic college town built around the historic campus.
- SAT Range 1390-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.83
- Net Price $10,154
Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Middletown, CT
-
| 0 reviews
- 16% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Wesleyan is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate film studies, creative writing, and music. Students live on a residential Middletown campus and follow an open curriculum with no required core courses.
- SAT Range 1415-1540
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $23,025
Boston College
- Private 4 Year
- Chestnut Hill, MA
-
5.0 | 5 reviews
- 16% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Boston College is a highly selective private Jesuit university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and the liberal arts. The residential campus sits in suburban Chestnut Hill just outside Boston.
- SAT Range 1440-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Net Price $32,519
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
- Public 4 Year
- Ann Arbor, MI
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4.8 | 5 reviews
- 16% acceptance rate
- Feb 1 application deadline
Michigan is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate business, engineering, and the social sciences. Ann Arbor is a classic college town built around the campus.
- SAT Range 1360-1530
- Avg GPA 3.88
- Net Price $17,574
Northeastern University Oakland
- Private 4 Year
- Oakland, CA
-
| 0 reviews
- 17% acceptance rate
Northeastern Oakland is a private university campus, formerly Mills College, known for undergraduate liberal arts. The historic campus sits in a residential area of Oakland.
- SAT Range 1420-1520
- Avg GPA 3.57
- Net Price $27,473
Babson College
- Private 4 Year
- Wellesley, MA
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
- 17% acceptance rate
- Jan 3 application deadline
Babson is a private college known for undergraduate entrepreneurship and business. The suburban campus is in Wellesley near Boston.
- SAT Range 1390-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.79
- Net Price $32,019
Denison University
- Private 4 Year
- Granville, OH
-
3.7 | 3 reviews
- 17% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Denison is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, the sciences, and theatre. Most students live on the hillside residential campus in the village of Granville.
- SAT Range 1320-1490
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.76
- Net Price $43,721
University of Virginia Main Campus
- Public 4 Year
- Charlottesville, VA
-
| 0 reviews
- 17% acceptance rate
UVA is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate commerce, government, and architecture. The historic campus in Charlottesville centers on Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village.
- SAT Range 1410-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
- Net Price $18,427
Colorado College
- Private 4 Year
- Colorado Springs, CO
-
| 0 reviews
- 18% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Colorado College is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and geology. Students take one course at a time under the Block Plan in intensive three-and-a-half-week sessions.
- SAT Range 1230-1460
- Avg GPA 3.98
- Net Price $36,123
College of the Holy Cross
- Private 4 Year
- Worcester, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 18% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Holy Cross is a highly selective Jesuit liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, political science, and history. The hilltop campus overlooks the city of Worcester.
- SAT Range 1240-1410
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $36,014
University of Miami
- Private 4 Year
- Coral Gables, FL
-
4.0 | 14 reviews
- 19% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
University of Miami is a private university known for undergraduate marine science, business, and communications. The Coral Gables campus has Mediterranean-style buildings set among lakes and tropical landscaping.
- SAT Range 1320-1480
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Net Price $45,397
Berea College
- Private 4 Year
- Berea, KY
-
| 0 reviews
- 19% acceptance rate
- Mar 31 application deadline
Berea is a private liberal arts college known for tuition-free undergraduate education paired with a required campus work program. The small campus lies in the Appalachian foothills of Kentucky.
- SAT Range 1156-1335
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Net Price $5,888
Vassar College
- Private 4 Year
- Poughkeepsie, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 19% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Vassar is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate English, art history, and the sciences. Most students live on the historic residential campus in New York's Hudson Valley.
- SAT Range 1450-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Net Price $29,981
Rhode Island School of Design
- Private 4 Year
- Providence, RI
-
| 0 reviews
- 19% acceptance rate
- Feb 1 application deadline
RISD is a highly selective private art and design college known for undergraduate fine arts, industrial design, and architecture. The urban Providence campus borders Brown University and offers a dual-degree program with it.
- SAT Range 1396-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.71
- Net Price $43,492
Carleton College
- Private 4 Year
- Northfield, MN
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 20% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Carleton is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate natural sciences, economics, and political science. Most students live on the residential campus in the small college town of Northfield.
- SAT Range 1450-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Net Price $28,047