East Colleges with low acceptance rates

Colleges with the Lowest Acceptance Rate in East for 2023

These are the most selective public and private four-year colleges in East. 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 Harvard University which sent acceptance letters to only 4% of the 57,786 students who applied and rejected 96%.

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 rankings of East colleges with the highest SAT scores, highest ACT scores and highest GPA's.


68 results

Harvard University
H
Cambridge, MA

Harvard University

Private 4 Year

4 reviews

4% Acceptance Rate

#4 Best Colleges in America

  • 31,345enrollment
  • $18,037net price
  • 1480-1580SAT range
  • 33-36ACT range
  • 4.0Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M
Cambridge, MA

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Private 4 Year

2 reviews

4% Acceptance Rate

#8 Best Colleges in America

  • 11,934enrollment
  • $19,998net price
  • 1510-1580SAT range
  • 34-36ACT range
  • 3.96Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 1

Princeton University
P
Princeton, NJ

Princeton University

Private 4 Year

1 reviews

4% Acceptance Rate

#1 Best Colleges in America

  • 8,478enrollment
  • $18,685net price
  • 1460-1570SAT range
  • 33-35ACT range
  • 3.93Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 1

Columbia University in the City of New York
C
New York, NY

Columbia University in the City of New York

Private 4 Year

0 reviews

4% Acceptance Rate

#21 Best Colleges in America

  • 33,776enrollment
  • $22,126net price
  • 1470-1570SAT range
  • 34-35ACT range
  • 3.91Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 1

Yale University
Y
New Haven, CT

Yale University

Private 4 Year

3 reviews

5% Acceptance Rate

#5 Best Colleges in America

  • 14,567enrollment
  • $17,511net price
  • 1480-1580SAT range
  • 33-35ACT range
  • 3.95Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 2

Dartmouth College
D
Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

Private 4 Year

4 reviews

6% Acceptance Rate

#12 Best Colleges in America

  • 6,761enrollment
  • $24,525net price
  • 1440-1560SAT range
  • 33-35ACT range
  • 3.9Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 3

University of Pennsylvania
P
Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania

Private 4 Year

3 reviews

6% Acceptance Rate

#16 Best Colleges in America

  • 28,038enrollment
  • $24,167net price
  • 1480-1570SAT range
  • 33-35ACT range
  • 3.95Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 5

Brown University
B
Providence, RI

Brown University

Private 4 Year

2 reviews

6% Acceptance Rate

#11 Best Colleges in America

  • 10,696enrollment
  • $27,659net price
  • 1460-1570SAT range
  • 33-35ACT range
  • 3.94Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 5

The Juilliard School
J
New York, NY

The Juilliard School

Private 4 Year

3 reviews

7% Acceptance Rate

 

  • 979enrollment
  • $41,022net price
  • -SAT range
  • -ACT range
  • NAAvg GPA

Applications Due Dec 1

Swarthmore College
S
Swarthmore, PA

Swarthmore College

Private 4 Year

1 reviews

8% Acceptance Rate

#16 Best Value Colleges in America

  • 1,651enrollment
  • $20,360net price
  • 1430-1560SAT range
  • 33-35ACT range
  • 3.9Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 4

Bowdoin College
B
Brunswick, ME

Bowdoin College

Private 4 Year

1 reviews

9% Acceptance Rate

 

  • 1,951enrollment
  • $25,622net price
  • -SAT range
  • -ACT range
  • NAAvg GPA

Applications Due Jan 5

Colby College
C
Waterville, ME

Colby College

Private 4 Year

1 reviews

9% Acceptance Rate

#11 Best Value Colleges in America

  • 2,262enrollment
  • $18,552net price
  • 1400-1530SAT range
  • 32-34ACT range
  • 3.86Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 1

Amherst College
A
Amherst, MA

Amherst College

Private 4 Year

0 reviews

9% Acceptance Rate

#14 Best Colleges in America

  • 1,971enrollment
  • $18,832net price
  • 1370-1550SAT range
  • 32-34ACT range
  • 3.91Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 2

Williams College
W
Williamstown, MA

Williams College

Private 4 Year

1 reviews

9% Acceptance Rate

 

  • 2,224enrollment
  • $22,356net price
  • -SAT range
  • -ACT range
  • 3.94Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 10

Cornell University
C
Ithaca, NY

Cornell University

Private 4 Year

2 reviews

9% Acceptance Rate

#17 Best Colleges in America

  • 25,582enrollment
  • $27,522net price
  • 1450-1560SAT range
  • 33-35ACT range
  • 3.9Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 2

Tufts University
T
Medford, MA

Tufts University

Private 4 Year

2 reviews

11% Acceptance Rate

#5 Best Private Colleges in Massachusetts

  • 13,293enrollment
  • $32,720net price
  • 1440-1550SAT range
  • 33-35ACT range
  • 3.91Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 1

Barnard College
B
New York, NY

Barnard College

Private 4 Year

1 reviews

11% Acceptance Rate

#5 Best Private Colleges in New York

  • 3,043enrollment
  • $30,572net price
  • 1425-1550SAT range
  • 32-34ACT range
  • 3.85Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 4

United States Military Academy
A
West Point, New York

United States Military Academy

Public 4 Year

0 reviews

11% Acceptance Rate

 

  • 4,594enrollment
  • -net price
  • 1200-1440SAT range
  • 28-33ACT range
  • 4.0Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 31