Most Selective Pennsylvania Colleges
Pennsylvania has 14 four-year colleges that accept 50% or fewer of applicants, ranked from most to least selective.
Curtis Institute of Music is the hardest to get into in Pennsylvania, accepting just 5% of 568 applicants. Also highly selective: University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College and Carnegie Mellon University.
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 in Pennsylvania. For academically demanding options, explore colleges with the highest SAT, highest ACT, and highest GPA averages.
Curtis Institute of Music
- Private 4 Year
- Philadelphia, PA
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| 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
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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
Swarthmore College
- Private 4 Year
- Swarthmore, PA
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5.0 | 3 reviews
- 7% acceptance rate
- Jan 4 application deadline
Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The suburban campus is a designated arboretum just outside Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1490-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Net Price $22,469
Carnegie Mellon University
- Private 4 Year
- Pittsburgh, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 12% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Carnegie Mellon is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate computer science, engineering, and drama. The urban campus sits in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Avg GPA 3.89
- Net Price $35,552
Haverford College
- Private 4 Year
- Haverford, PA
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5.0 | 7 reviews
- 12% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Haverford is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, economics, and political science. Students live under a student-run honor code on a suburban campus near Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1460-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Net Price $26,535
Lehigh University
- Private 4 Year
- Bethlehem, PA
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3.8 | 6 reviews
- 26% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Lehigh is a private university known for undergraduate engineering and business. The hillside campus sits on South Mountain overlooking Bethlehem.
- SAT Range 1370-1500
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.81
- Net Price $34,154
Villanova University
- Private 4 Year
- Villanova, PA
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5.0 | 4 reviews
- 27% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Villanova is a highly selective private Catholic university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and engineering. The suburban campus sits on Philadelphia's Main Line.
- SAT Range 1395-1510
- Avg GPA 3.87
- Net Price $37,201
Franklin and Marshall College
- Private 4 Year
- Lancaster, PA
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3.8 | 6 reviews
- 28% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Franklin and Marshall is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate government and the natural sciences. Most students live on a residential campus in the city of Lancaster.
- SAT Range 1310-1463
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $43,987
Bryn Mawr College
- Private 4 Year
- Bryn Mawr, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 29% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Bryn Mawr is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, archaeology, and classics. The suburban Main Line campus outside Philadelphia shares courses and resources with nearby Haverford and Swarthmore.
- SAT Range 1280-1510
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
- Net Price $33,221
Bucknell University
- Private 4 Year
- Lewisburg, PA
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3.7 | 3 reviews
- 29% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Bucknell is a selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, management, and the liberal arts. Most undergrads live on a residential campus in the small college town of Lewisburg.
- SAT Range 1310-1470
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Net Price $39,003
Lafayette College
- Private 4 Year
- Easton, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 31% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Lafayette is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering alongside the liberal arts. The residential hillside campus in Easton overlooks the Delaware and Lehigh rivers.
- SAT Range 1350-1500
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Net Price $38,442
Gettysburg College
- Private 4 Year
- Gettysburg, PA
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5.0 | 2 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Gettysburg is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate history and political science. The campus borders Gettysburg National Military Park and the Civil War battlefield.
- SAT Range 1270-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $32,769
Saint Joseph's University Lancaster
- Private 4 Year
- Lancaster, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 41% acceptance rate
- Feb 1 application deadline
- SAT Range 1050-1220
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $38,730
Dickinson College
- Private 4 Year
- Carlisle, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 42% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Dickinson is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate international studies, foreign languages, and environmental science. The historic campus sits in the small college town of Carlisle in central Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1310-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $38,483