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Most selective (lowest admit rate)
1,392 colleges in the U.S. with this figure reported (500+ students).
41Hamilton College · NY · Private (nonprofit)12% admit42Colgate University · NY · Private (nonprofit)12% admit43Washington University in St Louis · MO · Private (nonprofit)12% admit44University of Notre Dame · IN · Private (nonprofit)12% admit45Grinnell College · IA · Private (nonprofit)13% admit46Haverford College · PA · Private (nonprofit)13% admit47Bates College · ME · Private (nonprofit)13% admit48Harvey Mudd College · CA · Private (nonprofit)13% admit49Georgetown University · DC · Private (nonprofit)13% admit50Rhode Island School of Design · RI · Private (nonprofit)14% admit51Wellesley College · MA · Private (nonprofit)14% admit52United States Air Force Academy · CO · Public14% admit53United States Military Academy · NY · Public14% admit54Davidson College · NC · Private (nonprofit)14% admit55Tulane University of Louisiana · LA · Private (nonprofit)15% admit56College of the Ozarks · MO · Private (nonprofit)15% admit57Boston College · MA · Private (nonprofit)16% admit58Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus · GA · Public16% admit59Northeastern University Oakland · CA · Private (nonprofit)17% admit60Pitzer College · CA · Private (nonprofit)17% admit61University of Virginia-Main Campus · VA · Public17% admit62Denison University · OH · Private (nonprofit)17% admit63Wesleyan University · CT · Private (nonprofit)17% admit64Emory University-Oxford College · GA · Private (nonprofit)17% admit65Washington and Lee University · VA · Private (nonprofit)17% admit66Vassar College · NY · Private (nonprofit)18% admit67University of Michigan-Ann Arbor · MI · Public18% admit68University of Miami · FL · Private (nonprofit)19% admit69University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · NC · Public19% admit70The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art · NY · Private (nonprofit)19% admit71Smith College · MA · Private (nonprofit)20% admit72Babson College · MA · Private (nonprofit)20% admit73Colorado College · CO · Private (nonprofit)20% admit74Hillsdale College · MI · Private (nonprofit)21% admit75National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA) · CO · Private (nonprofit)21% admit76College of the Holy Cross · MA · Private (nonprofit)21% admit77Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University · FL · Public21% admit78Wake Forest University · NC · Private (nonprofit)22% admit79Franklin W Olin College of Engineering · MA · Private (nonprofit)22% admit80Carleton College · MN · Private (nonprofit)22% admit
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS (latest survey year). Sorted only by most selective (lowest admit rate) — this is not an overall quality ranking. Open-admission colleges do not report an admit rate and are not listed here.