CollegeFind

Most Selective Colleges (2026)

The most selective colleges in America, ranked by acceptance rate. These schools admit less than 20% of applicants and look for exceptional academics, leadership, and talent.

Showing top 50 of 389 qualifying colleges

389

Qualifying Colleges

$24,409

Avg Net Price

17%

Avg Acceptance Rate

$87,475

Avg Graduate Earnings

Top 6 — Most Selective Colleges (2026)

Harvard University campus

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

4.7
Privatemedium
3%

3% Acceptance

Highly Selective

Out-of-State Tuition

$59,076

Net Price

$16,816

Graduation Rate

98%

Median Earnings

$101,817

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Stanford University campus

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

4.9
Privatemedium
4%

4% Acceptance

Highly Selective

Out-of-State Tuition

$62,484

Net Price

$12,136

Graduation Rate

94%

Median Earnings

$124,080

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Columbia University in the City of New York campus

Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY

4.6
Privatemedium
4%

4% Acceptance

Highly Selective

Out-of-State Tuition

$69,045

Net Price

$20,148

Graduation Rate

95%

Median Earnings

$102,491

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Yale University campus

Yale University

New Haven, CT

4.7
Privatemedium
5%

5% Acceptance

Highly Selective

Out-of-State Tuition

$64,700

Net Price

$27,818

Graduation Rate

97%

Median Earnings

$100,533

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Princeton University campus

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

4.8
Privatemedium
5%

5% Acceptance

Highly Selective

Out-of-State Tuition

$59,710

Net Price

$10,555

Graduation Rate

97%

Median Earnings

$110,066

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University of Chicago campus

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

4.6
Privatemedium
5%

5% Acceptance

Highly Selective

Out-of-State Tuition

$66,939

Net Price

$18,967

Graduation Rate

95%

Median Earnings

$91,885

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Full Rankings — Top 50

1
Harvard University

Cambridge, MA · Private

3%

Acceptance Rate

2
Stanford University

Stanford, CA · Private

4%

Acceptance Rate

3
Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY · Private

4%

Acceptance Rate

4
Yale University

New Haven, CT · Private

5%

Acceptance Rate

5
Princeton University

Princeton, NJ · Private

5%

Acceptance Rate

6
University of Chicago

Chicago, IL · Private

5%

Acceptance Rate

7
Brown University

Providence, RI · Private

5%

Acceptance Rate

8
Northeastern University

Boston, MA · Private

6%

Acceptance Rate

9
University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA · Private

6%

Acceptance Rate

10
Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN · Private

6%

Acceptance Rate

11
Duke University

Durham, NC · Private

7%

Acceptance Rate

12
Northwestern University

Evanston, IL · Private

7%

Acceptance Rate

13
Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD · Private

8%

Acceptance Rate

14
Cornell University

Ithaca, NY · Private

8%

Acceptance Rate

15
University of California-Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA · Public

9%

Acceptance Rate

16
New York University

New York, NY · Private

9%

Acceptance Rate

17
University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA · Private

10%

Acceptance Rate

18
Tufts University

Medford, MA · Private

10%

Acceptance Rate

19
Boston University

Boston, MA · Private

11%

Acceptance Rate

20
Emory University

Atlanta, GA · Private

11%

Acceptance Rate

21
Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA · Private

11%

Acceptance Rate

22
University of California-Berkeley

Berkeley, CA · Public

12%

Acceptance Rate

23
Washington University in St Louis

St. Louis, MO · Private

12%

Acceptance Rate

24
University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN · Private

12%

Acceptance Rate

25
Georgetown University

Washington, DC · Private

13%

Acceptance Rate

26
Tulane University of Louisiana

New Orleans, LA · Private

15%

Acceptance Rate

27
Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA · Private

16%

Acceptance Rate

28
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Atlanta, GA · Public

16%

Acceptance Rate

29
University of Virginia-Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA · Public

17%

Acceptance Rate

30
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI · Public

18%

Acceptance Rate

31
University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL · Private

19%

Acceptance Rate

32
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC · Public

19%

Acceptance Rate

33
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Tallahassee, FL · Public

21%

Acceptance Rate

34
Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC · Private

22%

Acceptance Rate

35
University of Florida

Gainesville, FL · Public

24%

Acceptance Rate

36
University of California-San Diego

La Jolla, CA · Public

25%

Acceptance Rate

37
Villanova University

Villanova, PA · Private

25%

Acceptance Rate

38
Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL · Public

25%

Acceptance Rate

39
University of California-Irvine

Irvine, CA · Public

26%

Acceptance Rate

40
University of California-Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA · Public

28%

Acceptance Rate

41
Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH · Private

29%

Acceptance Rate

42
The University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX · Public

29%

Acceptance Rate

43
Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA · Private

29%

Acceptance Rate

44
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA · Public

30%

Acceptance Rate

45
William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA · Public

33%

Acceptance Rate

46
San Diego State University

San Diego, CA · Public

34%

Acceptance Rate

47
Howard University

Washington, DC · Private

35%

Acceptance Rate

48
University of Rochester

Rochester, NY · Private

36%

Acceptance Rate

49
University of Georgia

Athens, GA · Public

37%

Acceptance Rate

50
Binghamton University

Vestal, NY · Public

38%

Acceptance Rate

Rankings are based on data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Rankings do not reflect editorial opinion and are generated algorithmically based on publicly available outcomes data.

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