In this article, we list and discuss the 30 Hardest Colleges to Get Into in the US. If you would like to skip our detailed discussion of the topic, you can go directly to the top 6 Hardest Colleges to Get Into in the US.
Quality education undoubtedly sets a person up for success. According to a Fortune500 report, 75% of the world’s top 20 CEOs held an MBA or other graduate degree in 2023, 100% of the top 20 held an undergraduate degree, and 11.8% of the top 100 CEOs in the world in 2023 attended undergrad programs from IVY institutes. For context, the IVY League is a group of 8 private universities in the US, renowned worldwide for their history, academic excellence, and exclusivity. It’s also interesting to note that although all eight of these institutions are classified among the most prestigious colleges in the world, they do not typically define quality.
Are The Hardest Colleges to Get Into Also The Best Ones?
The quality and worth of an institution can be judged through different metrics like alumni salary, graduation and retention rates, net costs, academic success, etc. However, a low acceptance rate – or exclusivity – does not directly equate to quality. At the same time, the acceptance rate and the measure of quality or economic value of a college are closely linked. That’s because the hardest colleges academically to get into often excel in all the quality metrics and provide a better ROI than inclusive universities.
For example, the #1 college in the US by worth is extremely selective, and fresh graduates from this institute can make approximately over $110,000. In comparison, a graduate from any American university with a 100% acceptance rate would make less than half of the same amount. In fact, graduates from top colleges dominated the list of highest-paying bachelor’s degrees as of 2023. Put simply, some of the best colleges in the US which produce the most highly-qualified graduates have high competition and low acceptance rates. Therefore, although exclusivity is not a direct measure of an institute’s economic value for students, it is an indirect one.
In the US, there is a wide variety of colleges in terms of inclusivity. Some colleges allow everyone to get in, others accept in moderation, and some tend to be extremely selective. Similar to acceptance rate diversity, tuition fees also vary depending on the exclusivity and inclusivity of a college (See: 15 Cheapest American Universities with Low Tuition for International Students).
Generally, though, college tuition is costly in the US, with most students having to spend years after graduating trying to pay off their debts. With an average annual tuition fee of $27,091, the US has the highest cost of education in the world. According to the Federal Reserve report, student debt was over $1.7 trillion by the end of 2023. Compared to 2022, this is a decrease of $36.9 billion. However, compared to 2019, the debt grew by $89.3 billion at the end of 2023.
The high student debt is a result of the high cost of education in the US, which in turn, affects the accessibility of quality higher education to many individuals in the US. For this reason, some multinational companies like Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL), and Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) are making an effort to help their employees pay for college through tuition reimbursement.
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) has committed to invest a total of $1.2 billion by 2025 in its Career Choice, which is an employees’ education and skills training benefits program. In this program, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) offers funding for college tuition, high school diplomas, GEDs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency certifications for more than 750,000 front-line employees in the US. Through its Career Choice program, the company aims to support its employees in getting over the biggest barriers to education – time and money.
Meanwhile, Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL), an American multinational insurance company, offers to cover up to $5,250 in pre-approved education expenses per calendar year as tuition assistance for its employees. The coverage includes tuition, course fees, textbooks, registration fees, lab fees, and any cost related to the job or career path-related course. Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL) also offers tuition-free professional certificate and boot camp programs through its Guild Education plan.
On the other hand, Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX), an American multinational healthcare corporation, supports education by offering scholarships for undergraduate studies. The scholarships are on a merit basis and only available for children of Baxter International Inc.’s (NYSE:BAX) employees.
Below, we list the top hardest colleges to get into in the US.
30 Hardest Colleges to Get Into in the US
Our Methodology
For the list of the 30 Hardest Colleges to Get Into in the US, we used the College Navigator by the National Center of Education Statistics to browse through their directory of 7,000 colleges and universities in the United States and shortlist a pool of the top 42 colleges with less than 15% acceptance rates.
We then obtained the acceptance rates and number of undergraduate applicants for each college, and assigned weights to both these metrics. A weight of 30% was assigned to the acceptance rate as this demonstrates exclusivity and a weight of 70% was assigned to the number of applicants as this demonstrates competition. Once we had assigned weights, we normalized our data to ensure that both metrics contributed equally to our final ranking, and then calculated the composite score. Our final metric represented the exclusivity of each college. For the final step, we ranked the colleges based on this metric. The list is ranked in ascending order, going up to the hardest college to get into in the US. Note that the data we have used is as recent as the one provided by NCES (Fall 2022).
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30 Hardest Colleges to Get Into in the US
30. Williams College
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 8%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 15,321
Founded in 1793 and located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williams College is a private and extremely exclusive liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of only 8%. The average graduate student tuition and fee for an academic year in Williams College is $$64,540, according to the NCES. The current undergraduate student population is at 2,169 students for Williams College.
29. University of Notre Dame
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 13%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 26,509
With an application pool of over 26,500 students and an acceptance rate of 13% in the Fall 2022 session, the University of Notre Dame positions itself as one of the top 30 hardest colleges to get into in the US. It is a private institution in Notre Dame, Indiana, founded in 1842. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, the University of Notre Dame has around 1,553 full-time faculty and 203 part-time faculty members.
28. Swarthmore College
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 7%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 14,707
The Swarthmore College, located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1864 and is a private liberal arts college. The college is extremely exclusive, with a total undergraduate student population of 1,625 as of recent. The student-to-faculty ratio at Swarthmore College is 8 to 1.
27. Colby College
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 8%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 16,890
Ranked 27th, Colby College is also a private liberal arts college. It was founded in 1813 and is located in Waterville, Maine. Colby is one of the hardest colleges to get into in the US because of its low acceptance rates and large applicant pool. Out of the 16,890 students who applied in Fall 2022, only about 1,351 were enrolled. For the academic year 2023-24, the tuition fee stands at $66,600 per year. Also, the student-to-faculty ratio is 10 to 1, with the total number of full-time faculty members being 253, and the total undergraduate population being 2,299.
26. Amherst College
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 7%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 14,864
Amherst College, founded in 1821, is an extremely exclusive private institution in Amherst, Massachusetts. Some of the student services offered by Amherst include career counseling, employment for students, and placement for completers. In the Fall 2022 session, despite a huge applicant pool of 14,864 students, the acceptance rate stood at only 7%.
25. Georgetown University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 12%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 26,638
25th on the list, Georgetown University of Washington D.C. was founded in 1789 and is one of the most prestigious and selective universities in the US. The yearly tuition fee for the 2023-24 session is $65,081. Out of the 26,638 undergraduate applicants in the Fall 2022 session, only about 3,197 students were enrolled.
24. Washington University in St Louis
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 12%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 32,014
Established in 1853, the Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university named after the first president of the United States. For the Fall 2022 session, it has a total student population of 17,012, out of which 8,132 are undergraduates.
23. Tulane University of Louisiana
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 11%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 31,615
The Tulane University of Louisiana is located in New Orleans and was founded in 1834. Some of the services it offers to its students include career counseling, employment, placement for completers, and on-campus daycare for students’ children. The current undergraduate population at Tulane University of Louisiana is 8,785.
22. Carnegie Mellon University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 11%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 34,261
Ranked 22, the Carnegie Mellon University is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a private institution and was founded in 1900. As of the most recent available data, the undergraduate student population for Carnegie Mellon University is only 7,059, with a 50:50 gender ratio.
21. Tufts University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 10%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 34,882
Located in Medford, Massachusetts, and founded in 1852, Tufts University is one of the most renowned education institutes in the US. It is also one of the hardest colleges to get into in the world. The annual tuition fee for the academic year 2023-24 at Tufts University is $67,844 per year.
20. Rice University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 9%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 31,443
Rice University, operating since 1912, is a private institute in Houston, Texas. It is a prestigious university, offering over 50 majors across 7 different fields of study. The total undergraduate population at Rice University as of the most recent available data is 4,494 students.
19. Dartmouth College
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 6%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 28,336
19th on the list, Dartmouth College is one of the most prolific institutes in the US, located in Hanover, New Hampshire. It is one of the eight IVY league colleges, which positions it as one of the best colleges in the US, alongside being one of the most exclusive ones. Dartmouth has an undergraduate population of 4,458 students.
18. Johns Hopkins University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 7%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 37,844
Located in Baltimore, Maryland Johns Hopkins University is one of the top 20 hardest colleges to get into in the US. For the 2023-24 session, the annual tuition fee of the university stood at around $63,340. The university offers employment, placement, and counseling services to its students alongside multiple special learning opportunities. John Hopkins University has 5,117 full-time faculty members and 6,044 undergraduate students.
17. California Institute of Technology
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 3%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 16,626
Located in Pasadena, California, and founded in 1891, the California Institute of Technology ranks as the 17th hardest college to get into in the US. Despite having one of the lowest acceptance rates in the US, Califonia Institute of Technology University ranks among the top 20 because of its comparatively low applicant competition. Its undergraduate student population stands at 2,401 students.
16. University of Southern California
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 12%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 69,062
The University of South California is another high-class institution in the US with low acceptance rates and huge competition. It was founded in 1880, is located in Los Angeles, California, and has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1. As of the most recent available data, the college has a student population of about 20,699 students. Apart from offering multiple majors and special learning opportunities, USC offers counseling services, employment services, placement for completers, and on-campus daycare for students’ children.
15. Princeton University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 6%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 38,019
Fifteenth on the list, Princeton University is a world-renowned IVY league university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Its undergraduate student population as of the most recent available data is 5,321, while the yearly tuition fee for the 2023-2024 session was $59,710.
14. Vanderbilt University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 7%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 46,377
Located in Nashville, Tennessee Vanderbilt University is the fourteenth hardest university in the US to get into, with an acceptance rate of only 7% despite an applicant pool of 46,377 in the Fall 2022 session. VU was founded in 1873 and offers 70 undergraduate majors. It has an undergraduate population of 7,151 students.
13. Northwestern University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 7%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 51,261
Northwestern University is located in the city of Evanston, Illinois, and was established in 1851. According to NCES, the total number of students enrolled in Northwestern University is 23,161, of which 8,993 are undergraduates. With an acceptance rate of only 7% and an applicant pool of 51,261 students, Northwestern University upholds its status as one of the hardest colleges to get into in the US in 2024.
12. University of Chicago
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 5%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 37,522
A private university located in Illinois, the University of Chicago was founded in 1890. Quality-wise, UChicago is one of the best universities in the country, but it is also one of the hardest universities in the US to get admission into. Apart from the low acceptance rates and high competition, the annual tuition fee in UChicago is also costly; being $66,939 for the 2023-24 session, which is a 4.2% increase from the tuition fee of the 2022-23 session.
11. University of Pennsylvania
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 7%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 54,588
The University of Pennsylvania is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1740, it is one of the oldest institutes in the US and is renowned globally for its academic excellence, outstanding faculty, and exceptional status as an IVY League institute. It is a highly competitive university with a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, and around 11,250 undergraduate students.
10. Duke University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 6%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 50,016
Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina, is a private research university founded in Trinity in 1838. In 1892, the college was moved to Durham, where it now has a student population of 6,640 undergraduates. In the Fall 2022 session, despite having a large applicant pool of 50,016 students, Duke University had an acceptance rate of only 6%, which demonstrates the exclusivity and competitiveness of the college. The university has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, and it also offers multiple special learning opportunities to its students including distance education, ROTC (Army, Navy, Air Force), study abroad, undergraduate research, and teacher certification.
9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 4%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 33,767
Ranked 9th, the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT), located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a world-renowned college and is ranked among the top universities in the US. Founded in 1861, MIT is a private land-grant research university. Over the years, it has played a notable role in the development of various fields of modern technology and science. In the Fall 2022 session, MIT had a large applicant pool of 33,767 students, but an acceptance rate of only 4%. With a total undergraduate student population of 4,657 students, the university currently has a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1. It also offers multiple special learning opportunities to its students including distance education, ROTC (Army, Navy, Air Force), study abroad, and teacher certification.
8. Cornell University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 7%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 69,195
Ranked among the top 10 hardest colleges to get into in the US, Cornell University was first established in 1865 and is a private research university located in Ithaca, New York. As part of the IVY League, Cornell University is one of the top 10 universities in the US. It has a total undergraduate student population of 10,097 students, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1.
7. Yale University
Acceptance Rate (Fall 2022): 5%
Total Number of Undergraduate Applicants (Fall 2022): 50,060
Seventh on the list, Yale University is not only one of the most exclusive universities in America but also one of the best educational institutes in the US. It is a part of the IVY League and is located in New Havens, Connecticut. Also, it was founded in 1701, which also makes it one of the oldest universities in the United States. Being a world-renowned private university, Yale receives hundreds of thousands of undergraduate applications every year. However, it accepts only a select few. For the Fall 2022 session, there were more than 50,000 applicants, but the acceptance rate was only 5%. As of the most recent available data by the NCES, Yale University has about 6,645 undergraduate students and a full-time faculty of 5,875 members.
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Disclosure: None. 30 Hardest Colleges to Get Into in the US is originally published on Insider Monkey.