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
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
31% Acceptance Rate
#1 Best Value in Oregon
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
31% Acceptance Rate
#11 Best Private Colleges in Pennsylvania
Applications Due Jan 15
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
31% Acceptance Rate
Applications Due Jul 31
Public 4 Year
3 reviews
31% Acceptance Rate
#14 Best Public Universities in America
Applications Due Dec 1
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
31% Acceptance Rate
#3 Best Colleges in Texas
Applications Due Jan 15
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
32% Acceptance Rate
#32 Best Private Colleges in California
Applications Due Aug 20
Public 4 Year
0 reviews
32% Acceptance Rate
#3 Best Public Universities in North Carolina
Applications Due Mar 15
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
32% Acceptance Rate
#15 Best Private Colleges in Virginia
Applications Due Aug 1
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
32% Acceptance Rate
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
33% Acceptance Rate
Public 4 Year
1 reviews
33% Acceptance Rate
#10 Best Public Universities in Florida
Applications Due May 1
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
33% Acceptance Rate
Applications Due Jul 23
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
33% Acceptance Rate
Private 4 Year
3 reviews
33% Acceptance Rate
#9 Best Private Colleges in Pennsylvania
Applications Due Jan 15
Public 4 Year
4 reviews
33% Acceptance Rate
#4 Best Public Universities in America
Applications Due Jan 2
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
33% Acceptance Rate
Private 4 Year
0 reviews
34% Acceptance Rate
#6 Best Private Colleges in Florida
Applications Due Jul 1
Private 4 Year
1 reviews
34% Acceptance Rate
#2 Best Colleges in Ohio
Applications Due Jan 15