These are the most selective public and private four-year colleges in the United States. The list is ranked by acceptance rate, lowest to highest and limited to schools which reject at least half of all applicants. Leading the list is Fairfax University of America which sent acceptance letters to only 1% of the 378 students who applied and rejected 99%.
Not all schools on the most selective list are overly academically challenging. Some schools with less rigorous test and high school GPA requirements may receive a large numbers of qualified applicants and the school does not have space to admit them all.
If you're looking for challenging colleges, explore US rankings of the colleges with the highest SAT scores, highest ACT scores and highest GPA's.
245 results nationwide
Public 4 Year
6 reviews
#3 Best Colleges in Florida
Applications Due Mar 1
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
Applications Due Mar 31
Private 4 Year
2 reviews
#18 Best Private Colleges in North Carolina
Public 4 Year
3 reviews
#19 Best Public Universities in America
Applications Due Nov 30
Private 4 Year
13 reviews
#12 Best Private Colleges in Florida
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
Private 4 Year
1 reviews
#8 Best Private Colleges in New York
Applications Due Jan 15
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
Applications Due Mar 1
Private 4 Year
3 reviews
#1 Best Private Colleges in Ohio
Applications Due Jan 15
Private 4 Year
1 reviews
#6 Best Private Colleges in California
Applications Due Jan 15
Private 4 Year
2 reviews
#5 Best Private Colleges in Georgia
Applications Due Feb 1
Private 4 Year
1 reviews
#2 Best Colleges in Minnesota
Applications Due Jan 15
Public 4 Year
1 reviews
#4 Best Public Universities in New Mexico
Applications Due Aug 24
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
Private 4 Year
5 reviews
#2 Best Private Colleges in Alabama
Applications Due Apr 15
Public 4 Year
2 reviews
#7 Best Public Universities in California
Applications Due Nov 30
Public 4 Year
1 reviews
#8 Best Public Universities in Mississippi
Private 4 Year
0 reviews