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College acceptance rates

Published undergraduate admit rates for 235 US colleges and universities, and what each selectivity band actually means for the essay you are about to write.

What does an acceptance rate tell you about your essay?

An acceptance rate tells you how much work your essay has to do. Below 10 percent almost every applicant is academically qualified, so the essay is one of the few places left to differentiate. Above 50 percent it matters most for honors programs and merit aid.

Selectivity bands and what they mean
BandAdmit rateSchools hereWhat it means for the essay
Most selective Under 10% 27 Fewer than 1 in 10 applicants are admitted. At this band the essay is rarely what gets you in on its own, but a generic one is reliably what leaves you out.
Highly selective 10% to 25% 41 Roughly 1 in 4 to 1 in 10 applicants are admitted. Readers here are choosing between many academically qualified students, which is exactly the margin an essay moves.
Selective 25% to 50% 60 Between a quarter and half of applicants are admitted. A specific, well-researched supplement is a real differentiator in this band.
Moderately selective 50% to 75% 53 Most qualified applicants are admitted. The essay matters most here for scholarship and honors-program review.
Least selective Over 75% 53 Three quarters or more of applicants are admitted. Focus your essay energy on the more selective schools on your list.

Rates move every admissions cycle. Treat these as bands rather than precise figures, and confirm the current year on the school’s own admissions page before you build a list around one. If you are writing a school-specific supplement, start with our guide to the “Why Us” essay.

Every school in the directory

235 schools

US colleges and universities by published acceptance rate
SchoolAcceptance rateSelectivity
American University 41% Selective
Amherst College 9% Most selective
Arizona State University 90% Least selective
Auburn University 44% Selective
Babson College 26% Selective
Ball State University 77% Least selective
Bard College 61% Moderately selective
Barnard College 8% Most selective
Bates College 14% Highly selective
Baylor University 46% Selective
Bentley University 62% Moderately selective
Binghamton University 40% Selective
Boston College 15% Highly selective
Boston University 11% Highly selective
Bowdoin College 9% Most selective
Brandeis University 39% Selective
Brigham Young University 69% Moderately selective
Brown University 5% Most selective
Bryn Mawr College 33% Selective
Bucknell University 30% Selective
California Institute of Technology 3% Most selective
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 30% Selective
Carleton College 17% Highly selective
Carnegie Mellon University 11% Highly selective
Case Western Reserve University 30% Selective
Centre College 66% Moderately selective
Chapman University 59% Moderately selective
Claremont McKenna College 11% Highly selective
Clark University 53% Moderately selective
Clemson University 43% Selective
Colby College 8% Most selective
Colgate University 12% Highly selective
College of the Holy Cross 30% Selective
College of William & Mary 33% Selective
Colorado College 14% Highly selective
Colorado State University 90% Least selective
Columbia University 4% Most selective
Connecticut College 37% Selective
Cooper Union 14% Highly selective
Cornell University 7% Most selective
Creighton University 76% Least selective
Dartmouth College 6% Most selective
Davidson College 17% Highly selective
Denison University 27% Selective
DePaul University 70% Moderately selective
DePauw University 63% Moderately selective
Dickinson College 40% Selective
Drexel University 80% Least selective
Duke University 6% Most selective
Elon University 74% Moderately selective
Emory University 13% Highly selective
Florida International University 64% Moderately selective
Florida State University 25% Selective
Fordham University 54% Moderately selective
Franklin & Marshall College 30% Selective
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering 12% Highly selective
Furman University 60% Moderately selective
George Mason University 90% Least selective
George Washington University 49% Selective
Georgetown University 12% Highly selective
Georgia Institute of Technology 16% Highly selective
Georgia State University 76% Least selective
Gettysburg College 51% Moderately selective
Gonzaga University 77% Least selective
Grinnell College 11% Highly selective
Hamilton College 12% Highly selective
Harvard University 3.4% Most selective
Harvey Mudd College 10% Highly selective
Haverford College 14% Highly selective
Howard University 35% Selective
Illinois Institute of Technology 60% Moderately selective
Indiana University Bloomington 80% Least selective
Iowa State University 90% Least selective
James Madison University 82% Least selective
Johns Hopkins University 7% Most selective
Kansas State University 95% Least selective
Kent State University 86% Least selective
Kenyon College 34% Selective
Lafayette College 30% Selective
Lehigh University 29% Selective
Louisiana State University 76% Least selective
Loyola Marymount University 44% Selective
Loyola University Chicago 81% Least selective
Macalester College 28% Selective
Marquette University 82% Least selective
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4% Most selective
Miami University 89% Least selective
Michigan State University 88% Least selective
Middlebury College 13% Highly selective
Mississippi State University 74% Moderately selective
Morehouse College 60% Moderately selective
Mount Holyoke College 38% Selective
New York University 12% Highly selective
North Carolina State University 47% Selective
Northeastern University 6% Most selective
Northwestern University 7% Most selective
Oberlin College 33% Selective
Occidental College 36% Selective
Ohio State University 53% Moderately selective
Oklahoma State University 70% Moderately selective
Oregon State University 82% Least selective
Pennsylvania State University 55% Moderately selective
Pepperdine University 49% Selective
Pitzer College 13% Highly selective
Pomona College 7% Most selective
Princeton University 4.5% Most selective
Providence College 51% Moderately selective
Purdue University 53% Moderately selective
Reed College 30% Selective
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 65% Moderately selective
Rhodes College 46% Selective
Rice University 9% Most selective
Rochester Institute of Technology 68% Moderately selective
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 74% Moderately selective
Rutgers University-New Brunswick 66% Moderately selective
Saint Louis University 58% Moderately selective
San Diego State University 39% Selective
San Jose State University 67% Moderately selective
Santa Clara University 48% Selective
Sarah Lawrence College 56% Moderately selective
Scripps College 29% Selective
Seton Hall University 75% Least selective
Sewanee: The University of the South 47% Selective
Skidmore College 26% Selective
Smith College 23% Highly selective
Southern Methodist University 50% Moderately selective
Spelman College 43% Selective
St. Olaf College 48% Selective
Stanford University 3.7% Most selective
Stevens Institute of Technology 45% Selective
Stony Brook University 49% Selective
Swarthmore College 7% Most selective
Syracuse University 52% Moderately selective
Temple University 71% Moderately selective
Texas A&M University 63% Moderately selective
Texas Christian University 48% Selective
Trinity College 33% Selective
Trinity University 34% Selective
Tufts University 10% Highly selective
Tulane University 11% Highly selective
Union College 42% Selective
United States Air Force Academy 11% Highly selective
United States Military Academy 11% Highly selective
United States Naval Academy 9% Most selective
University at Albany 63% Moderately selective
University at Buffalo 67% Moderately selective
University of Alabama 80% Least selective
University of Alabama at Birmingham 87% Least selective
University of Arizona 87% Least selective
University of Arkansas 79% Least selective
University of California system — Rate not listed
University of California, Berkeley 11% Highly selective
University of California, Davis 37% Selective
University of California, Irvine 21% Highly selective
University of California, Los Angeles 9% Most selective
University of California, Merced 89% Least selective
University of California, Riverside 68% Moderately selective
University of California, San Diego 24% Highly selective
University of California, Santa Barbara 26% Selective
University of California, Santa Cruz 47% Selective
University of Central Florida 41% Selective
University of Chicago 5% Most selective
University of Cincinnati 84% Least selective
University of Colorado Boulder 80% Least selective
University of Connecticut 55% Moderately selective
University of Dayton 71% Moderately selective
University of Delaware 74% Moderately selective
University of Denver 78% Least selective
University of Florida 23% Highly selective
University of Georgia 40% Selective
University of Hawaii at Manoa 84% Least selective
University of Houston 66% Moderately selective
University of Idaho 78% Least selective
University of Illinois Chicago 79% Least selective
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 45% Selective
University of Iowa 86% Least selective
University of Kansas 88% Least selective
University of Kentucky 94% Least selective
University of Maine 96% Least selective
University of Maryland, Baltimore County 77% Least selective
University of Maryland, College Park 45% Selective
University of Massachusetts Amherst 58% Moderately selective
University of Miami 19% Highly selective
University of Michigan 18% Highly selective
University of Minnesota 70% Moderately selective
University of Mississippi 97% Least selective
University of Missouri 79% Least selective
University of Montana 95% Least selective
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 79% Least selective
University of Nevada, Las Vegas 85% Least selective
University of Nevada, Reno 88% Least selective
University of New Hampshire 87% Least selective
University of New Mexico 96% Least selective
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 17% Highly selective
University of North Dakota 90% Least selective
University of Notre Dame 13% Highly selective
University of Oklahoma 73% Moderately selective
University of Oregon 86% Least selective
University of Pennsylvania 6% Most selective
University of Pittsburgh 49% Selective
University of Rhode Island 76% Least selective
University of Richmond 25% Selective
University of Rochester 39% Selective
University of San Diego 53% Moderately selective
University of San Francisco 71% Moderately selective
University of South Carolina 64% Moderately selective
University of South Dakota 87% Least selective
University of South Florida 44% Selective
University of Southern California 10% Highly selective
University of Tennessee, Knoxville 68% Moderately selective
University of Texas at Austin 29% Selective
University of Texas at Dallas 85% Least selective
University of Tulsa 68% Moderately selective
University of Utah 89% Least selective
University of Vermont 62% Moderately selective
University of Virginia 19% Highly selective
University of Washington 48% Selective
University of Wisconsin-Madison 49% Selective
University of Wyoming 97% Least selective
Vanderbilt University 7% Most selective
Vassar College 19% Highly selective
Villanova University 25% Selective
Virginia Tech 57% Moderately selective
Wake Forest University 21% Highly selective
Washington State University 83% Least selective
Washington University in St. Louis 12% Highly selective
Wayne State University 74% Moderately selective
Wellesley College 13% Highly selective
Wesleyan University 14% Highly selective
Western Michigan University 80% Least selective
Whitman College 56% Moderately selective
Williams College 9% Most selective
Worcester Polytechnic Institute 58% Moderately selective
Yale University 4.5% Most selective
Yeshiva University 63% Moderately selective

Research a school properly before you write its supplement

Essay Clarity builds a research brief for each school on your list across six categories, including the faculty you would actually work with, so a “Why Us” essay can name real things.

Get started Read the “Why Us” guide