Ranking by selectivity for help picking reaches, matches, safeties

College Search & Selection
1

Here are the 75 most selective schools. I’ll post the next 75.
If you are between the 25th and 75th %iles, then the school is a selectivity match for you. If you are above the 75th %ile, then the school is a safety, if you are below the 25th %ile, then the school is a reach.

Of course, it is important that the school has your major. Once you determine reach/match/safety based on selectivity, then you can consider other factors such as location, cost, and so on.

SAT midpoint, state, SAT CR 25th %ile, SAT CR 75th %ile, SAT math 25th %ile, SAT math 75th %ile,
ACT composite 25th %ile, ACT composite 75th %ile

1545 CA 720 800 770 800 33 35 California Institute of Technology
1515 IL 720 800 720 790 32 35 University of Chicago
1505 MA 700 800 710 800 32 35 Harvard University
1505 NJ 700 800 710 800 31 35 Princeton University
1500 MA 680 770 750 800 33 35 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1500 CT 700 800 710 790 32 35 Yale University
1490 TN 700 780 710 790 32 34 Vanderbilt University
1485 MO 700 760 720 790 32 34 Washington University in St Louis
1480 NY 690 780 700 790 31 34 Columbia University in the City of New York
1480 CA 680 760 720 800 32 35 Harvey Mudd College
1475 CA 680 780 700 790 31 34 Stanford University
1470 IL 690 760 700 790 31 34 Northwestern University
1460 CA 690 760 690 780 31 34 Pomona College
1460 TX 670 760 700 790 31 34 Rice University
1455 NH 670 780 680 780 30 34 Dartmouth College
1455 NC 670 760 690 790 30 34 Duke University
1450 PA 670 760 690 780 30 34 University of Pennsylvania
1445 MA 680 750 690 770 30 33 Tufts University
1445 MA 670 780 660 780 30 34 Williams College
1440 MA 670 760 680 770 30 34 Amherst College
1440 PA 680 760 670 770 31 34 Swarthmore College
1435 ME 680 760 680 750 30 33 Bowdoin College
1435 RI 660 760 670 780 29 34 Brown University
1435 PA 640 740 700 790 30 34 Carnegie Mellon University
1430 MN 660 750 680 770 29 33 Carleton College
1430 IN 660 750 680 770 32 34 University of Notre Dame
1420 NY 640 740 680 780 30 34 Cornell University
1415 MD 650 740 670 770 30 34 Johns Hopkins University
1410 CA 650 740 670 760 29 33 Claremont McKenna College
1410 MA 660 760 650 750 29 33 Wellesley College
1405 DC 650 750 660 750 29 33 Georgetown University
1400 PA 660 750 650 740 30 33 Haverford College
1390 MA 640 730 660 750 30 33 Northeastern University
1390 NY 660 740 650 730 30 33 Vassar College
1390 CT 640 740 660 740 29 33 Wesleyan University
1389 NY 620 720 670 768 27 31 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
1385 NY 640 730 660 740 29 33 Hamilton College
1385 VA 650 740 660 720 30 33 Washington and Lee University
1380 MI 620 720 660 760 28 32 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
1380 CA 620 720 660 760 29 33 University of Southern California
1375 OH 600 720 670 760 29 33 Case Western Reserve University
1375 IA 620 730 630 770 28 32 Grinnell College
1375 VT 630 740 640 740 31 33 Middlebury College
1375 OR 660 750 620 720 28 33 Reed College
1367 CA 640 733 640 720 29 32 Scripps College
1365 NY 620 720 650 740 30 32 Colgate University
1365 VA 640 740 630 720 28 32 College of William and Mary
1365 GA 620 710 650 750 29 32 Emory University
1363 OH 650 740 620 715 28 32 Oberlin College
1360 MA 620 710 650 740 30 33 Boston College
1360 GA 600 700 660 760 28 32 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
1355 NY 610 710 610 780 29 33 Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
1355 NY 620 720 630 740 28 32 New York University
1355 CA 590 720 630 770 27 33 University of California-Berkeley
1355 IL 560 670 700 780 26 31 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1355 VA 620 720 630 740 29 33 University of Virginia-Main Campus
1350 MA 600 710 630 760 28 32 Brandeis University
1350 NY 600 700 650 750 29 32 University of Rochester
1345 ME 620 710 640 720 28 32 Colby College
1340 NY 620 730 620 710 28 32 Barnard College
1340 PA 600 710 610 760 27 32 Bryn Mawr College
1340 MN 620 740 610 710 29 32 Macalester College
1335 NC 630 730 600 710 29 33 Davidson College
1325 CO 610 710 610 720 27 32 Colorado College
1325 FL 600 700 630 720 28 32 University of Miami
1322 WA 610 730 610 693 28 32 Whitman College
1320 OH 630 720 600 690 28 32 Kenyon College
1320 LA 620 700 620 700 29 32 Tulane University of Louisiana
1315 PA 580 670 640 740 28 32 Lehigh University
1315 IL 600 720 610 700 27 32 Wheaton College
1310 NY 590 680 630 720 28 31 Union College
1310 MD 580 690 620 730 99 99 University of Maryland-College Park
1310 VA 590 690 620 720 28 31 University of Richmond
1305 CA 600 700 610 700 27 31 Occidental College
1305 TX 600 690 620 700 27 31 Southern Methodist University

2

SAT midpoint, state, SAT CR 25th %ile, SAT CR 75th %ile, SAT math 25th %ile, SAT math 75th %ile,
ACT composite 25th %ile, ACT composite 75th %ile

1305 CO 590 690 620 710 29 32 United States Air Force Academy
1305 NC 590 700 610 710 28 32 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1305 PA 590 690 620 710 29 31 Villanova University
1303 NY 590 675 630 710 27 30 SUNY at Binghamton
1300 PA 580 680 620 720 27 32 Bucknell University
1300 MN 590 710 590 710 26 31 St Olaf College
1300 NJ 570 670 640 720 27 32 Stevens Institute of Technology
1300 CA 560 680 600 760 25 31 University of California-Los Angeles
1300 MN 550 690 620 740 26 30 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
1295 CO 570 670 630 720 27 31 Colorado School of Mines
1295 DC 600 690 600 700 27 31 George Washington University
1295 NY 550 660 640 740 28 32 Polytechnic Institute of New York University
1290 CA 590 680 610 700 27 31 Santa Clara University
1285 MA 570 670 610 720 26 30 Boston University
1285 PA 600 690 600 680 27 29 Gettysburg College
1285 FL 620 720 570 660 27 30 New College of Florida
1285 NY 580 690 600 700 27 29 SUNY College at Geneseo
1283 NY 580 695 600 690 27 30 United States Military Academy
1280 MD 570 680 610 700 99 99 United States Naval Academy
1280 CA 550 660 620 730 25 31 University of California-San Diego
1280 WI 530 650 630 750 26 30 University of Wisconsin-Madison
1278 PA 590 675 600 690 27 31 Dickinson College
1275 PA 570 670 610 700 27 31 Lafayette College
1275 OR 600 700 580 670 26 31 Lewis & Clark College
1275 CT 570 670 620 690 25 30 United States Coast Guard Academy
1270 IL 520 640 640 740 25 30 Illinois Institute of Technology
1270 TN 590 690 580 680 27 31 Rhodes College
1265 OH 540 660 610 720 27 31 Ohio State University-Main Campus
1265 FL 580 670 590 690 26 31 University of Florida
1265 OK 560 710 570 690 25 32 University of Tulsa
1260 OH 590 660 600 670 27 31 Denison University
1260 TX 550 670 590 710 25 31 The University of Texas at Austin
1260 TX 550 670 600 700 25 31 The University of Texas at Dallas
1260 TX 560 690 590 680 26 31 Trinity University
1255 DC 590 690 570 660 26 30 American University
1255 UT 570 680 580 680 26 31 Brigham Young University-Provo
1255 NY 570 670 590 680 26 30 Fordham University
1255 PA 570 660 600 680 26 30 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
1250 NY 550 650 600 700 26 30 Stony Brook University
1250 CA 590 700 570 640 23 31 Thomas Aquinas College
1250 CT 570 680 580 670 25 29 Trinity College
1245 SC 560 660 590 680 26 31 Clemson University
1245 IN 590 700 560 640 26 31 Earlham College
1245 MO 540 670 590 690 25 31 Missouri University of Science and Technology
1240 CA 550 650 590 690 25 30 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
1240 PA 570 670 570 670 25 31 Muhlenberg College
1240 NY 560 680 570 670 26 30 Skidmore College
1235 NM 550 670 570 680 23 29 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
1235 CA 560 660 570 680 99 99 Pepperdine University
1235 NJ 550 660 580 680 99 99 The College of New Jersey
1235 GA 560 660 580 670 26 30 University of Georgia
1235 NY 550 680 550 690 23 29 Yeshiva University
1230 WI 550 710 540 660 24 30 Beloit College
1230 KY 550 670 560 680 26 31 Centre College
1230 MA 590 670 550 650 26 30 Emerson College
1230 SC 550 670 570 670 25 30 Furman University
1230 TN 580 670 560 650 26 30 Sewanee-The University of the South
1230 CT 550 650 580 680 25 30 University of Connecticut
1230 IA 540 620 620 680 25 28 University of Iowa
1230 WA 520 650 580 710 25 30 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
1225 TX 550 660 570 670 24 29 Baylor University
1225 MA 540 630 600 680 26 30 Bentley University
1225 NY 530 630 600 690 99 99 CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
1225 MI 550 670 540 690 25 30 Kalamazoo College
1225 OH 540 650 580 680 25 30 Miami University-Oxford
1225 WI 540 640 590 680 25 30 Milwaukee School of Engineering
1225 NC 550 640 590 670 25 30 North Carolina State University at Raleigh
1225 TN 580 680 520 670 22 29 Union University
1225 WA 570 670 550 660 25 30 University of Puget Sound
1220 NC 560 660 560 660 23 26 Elon University
1220 IL 510 620 570 740 25 30 Illinois Wesleyan University
1220 VA 540 640 580 680 99 99 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1216 WA 540 668 553 670 25 30 DigiPen Institute of Technology
1215 TX 540 660 560 670 23 27 Austin College
1215 MI 520 650 580 680 24 29 Michigan Technological University

3

SAT midpoint, state, SAT CR 25th %ile, SAT CR 75th %ile, SAT math 25th %ile, SAT math 75th %ile,
ACT composite 25th %ile, ACT composite 75th %ile

1215 NY 540 640 570 680 25 31 Rochester Institute of Technology
1215 MD 570 670 540 650 25 30 St Mary’s College of Maryland
1215 OH 550 670 550 660 25 30 The College of Wooster
1215 CA 530 650 560 690 24 29 University of California-Santa Barbara
1215 CA 540 650 570 670 25 30 University of San Diego
1210 CA 550 640 570 660 24 29 Chapman University
1210 MN 550 680 530 660 24 30 Gustavus Adolphus College
1210 NJ 520 640 570 690 99 99 Rutgers University-New Brunswick
1210 CA 500 640 580 700 25 29 Soka University of America
1210 TX 550 680 540 650 24 30 University of Dallas
1210 CO 540 660 560 660 25 30 University of Denver
1210 MD 540 640 570 670 24 29 University of Maryland-Baltimore County
1210 MA 540 640 570 670 24 29 University of Massachusetts-Amherst
1207 PA 542 669 537 665 24 29 Grove City College
1205 IL 565 665 530 650 19 26 Eureka College
1205 MO 540 680 540 650 25 30 Truman State University
1200 IN 520 650 550 680 25 29 DePauw University
1200 AR 530 680 540 650 26 32 Hendrix College
1200 IN 520 630 560 690 24 30 Purdue University-Main Campus
1200 MO 530 640 550 680 25 30 Saint Louis University
1195 IA 530 640 540 680 25 30 Drake University
1195 FL 560 640 550 640 25 29 Florida State University
1195 MI 520 660 530 680 24 29 Hope College
1195 PA 530 630 560 670 25 29 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
1195 FL 550 640 550 650 24 29 Rollins College
1195 CA 510 640 560 680 23 29 University of California-Davis
1195 MN 530 690 530 640 23 28 University of Minnesota-Morris
1195 NC 550 650 550 640 24 27 University of North Carolina at Asheville
1195 OR 550 650 540 650 99 99 University of Portland
1195 PR 543 644 533 670 99 99 University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
1195 SC 540 640 560 650 24 29 University of South Carolina-Columbia
1195 OR 540 660 540 650 24 29 Willamette University
1190 PA 510 630 560 680 24 30 Drexel University
1190 WA 540 640 550 650 25 29 Gonzaga University
1190 CA 540 640 550 650 25 29 Loyola Marymount University
1188 NY 520 620 570 665 24 28 Clarkson University
1185 VT 540 640 540 650 24 29 University of Vermont
1185 CA 520 650 540 660 24 29 Westmont College
1184 MD 540 627 560 640 25 29 Loyola University Maryland
1180 PA 530 640 540 650 23 29 Allegheny College
1180 OH 540 640 540 640 24 29 Cedarville University
1180 GA 530 670 530 630 23 28 Covenant College
1180 NE 520 640 540 660 24 30 Creighton University
1180 TX 520 630 550 660 23 29 Texas A & M University-College Station
1180 TX 540 620 550 650 25 29 Texas Christian University
1180 FL 540 630 550 640 23 28 University of Central Florida
1179 MI 518 650 530 660 23 29 Calvin College
1176 IA 493 693 495 670 23 28 Coe College
1176 MI 503 675 525 648 18 24 University of Michigan-Flint
1175 IA 520 670 510 650 23 29 Cornell College
1175 IN 520 630 540 660 24 30 Indiana University-Bloomington
1175 WI 520 630 550 650 25 29 Marquette University
1175 GA 540 630 540 640 23 28 Mercer University
1175 VT 530 650 530 640 23 28 Saint Michael’s College
1175 NC 540 620 560 630 22 26 University of North Carolina Wilmington
1175 CA 500 640 530 680 22 29 University of the Pacific
1170 TN 540 640 530 630 24 29 Belmont University
1170 TX 520 640 540 640 22 29 Southwestern University
1170 FL 540 640 530 630 23 28 Stetson University
1170 IN 520 660 510 650 24 31 Taylor University
1170 CO 520 630 540 650 24 29 University of Colorado Boulder
1170 DE 520 630 540 650 24 29 University of Delaware
1170 NE 490 660 520 670 22 28 University of Nebraska-Lincoln
1170 CA 530 630 540 640 23 27 University of San Francisco
1170 FL 530 620 550 640 23 28 University of South Florida-Main Campus
1170 PA 520 640 540 640 24 30 Ursinus College
1170 SC 540 620 540 640 24 29 Wofford College
1165 AL 520 620 540 650 24 30 Auburn University
1165 GA 530 640 530 630 24 29 Berry College
1165 IN 530 630 530 640 25 30 Butler University
1165 SC 530 630 540 630 23 28 College of Charleston
1165 NY 530 630 540 630 23 28 Hofstra University
1165 TX 500 640 530 660 22 30 LeTourneau University
1165 TN 520 650 510 650 22 28 Lipscomb University
1165 ID 560 670 480 620 22 27 New Saint Andrews College
1165 TN 520 640 520 650 24 29 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
1165 AL 520 640 520 650 22 28 University of Alabama at Birmingham
1165 MO 520 640 520 650 23 28 University of Missouri-Columbia

4

SAT midpoint, state, SAT CR 25th %ile, SAT CR 75th %ile, SAT math 25th %ile, SAT math 75th %ile,
ACT composite 25th %ile, ACT composite 75th %ile

1162 MO 498 670 510 645 22 28 William Jewell College
1160 VA 540 630 530 620 23 28 Christopher Newport University
1160 NY 520 620 540 640 99 99 CUNY Hunter College
1160 AZ 500 630 540 650 23 29 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott
1160 OH 540 650 510 620 23 28 Franciscan University of Steubenville
1160 MI 490 630 540 660 24 29 Kettering University
1160 WA 520 640 530 630 24 29 Seattle University
1160 NY 520 620 540 640 23 27 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
1160 KY 520 660 510 630 24 30 Transylvania University
1160 MN 520 640 520 640 23 28 University of St Thomas
1160 NY 530 630 520 640 22 27 Wagner College
1160 MD 520 640 520 640 24 29 Washington College
1155 AL 520 630 520 640 23 29 Birmingham Southern College
1155 IL 530 630 520 630 23 28 DePaul University
1155 IL 520 630 530 630 24 29 Loyola University Chicago
1155 RI 520 620 530 640 23 28 Providence College
1155 WI 490 630 510 680 21 28 Ripon College
1155 MD 540 610 540 620 22 26 Salisbury University
1155 NY 500 620 540 650 23 28 Syracuse University
1155 NY 500 600 550 660 23 28 University at Buffalo
1155 AL 510 640 510 650 23 29 University of Alabama in Huntsville
1155 FL 540 620 540 610 23 26 University of North Florida
1155 OK 500 630 530 650 23 29 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
1154 MA 516 653 499 639 22 29 Gordon College
1153 MO 525 650 515 615 22 28 Drury University
1150 NC 520 620 540 620 24 28 Appalachian State University
1150 FL 540 620 530 610 24 27 Florida International University
1150 VA 520 620 530 630 24 28 George Mason University
1150 VA 520 620 530 630 23 27 James Madison University
1150 CA 520 630 520 630 23 28 Point Loma Nazarene University
1150 VA 520 620 530 630 22 27 Virginia Military Institute
1150 MO 500 640 510 649 23 28 Rockhurst University
1145 AZ 500 620 520 650 22 28 Arizona State University-Tempe
1145 FL 500 610 530 650 23 28 Florida Institute of Technology
1145 IA 460 620 530 680 22 28 Iowa State University
1145 AL 550 640 500 600 19 24 Judson College
1145 MI 480 630 550 630 22 28 Lawrence Technological University
1145 PA 520 620 510 640 23 29 Messiah College
1145 CA 540 640 500 610 23 28 Mills College
1145 OH 490 620 530 650 23 29 Ohio Northern University
1145 NH 540 610 520 620 23 27 Saint Anselm College
1145 MA 520 630 520 620 23 28 Simmons College
1143 KS 515 655 485 630 22 28 Benedictine College
1143 AR 500 640 505 640 22 28 John Brown University
1140 IL 500 640 510 630 23 28 Bradley University
1140 GA 530 610 520 620 22 26 Georgia College and State University
1140 LA 520 640 510 610 22 28 Loyola University New Orleans
1140 MT 500 620 550 610 21 27 Montana Tech of the University of Montana
1140 NJ 480 590 550 660 22 29 New Jersey Institute of Technology
1140 NY 540 630 510 600 24 28 The King’s College
1140 TX 490 610 540 640 22 27 University of Houston
1140 OH 520 620 520 620 23 25 Wittenberg University
1140 MN 498 640 468 673 22 27 University of Northwestern-St Paul
1135 MN 490 640 530 610 22 28 Bethel University
1135 RI 510 590 540 630 23 27 Bryant University
1135 CO 510 620 510 630 22 27 Colorado State University-Fort Collins
1135 MN 510 650 480 630 22 28 Concordia College at Moorhead
1135 LA 500 620 520 630 23 28 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
1135 MT 500 630 510 630 21 27 Montana State University
1135 GA 520 630 510 610 22 27 Oglethorpe University
1135 WA 520 630 510 610 23 28 Seattle Pacific University
1134 MS 498 630 520 620 23 28 Millsaps College
1132 KY 510 630 513 610 22 26 Berea College
1130 IL 510 620 510 620 23 28 Lake Forest College
1130 MI 480 630 510 640 19 25 Madonna University
1130 SC 450 670 470 670 21 29 North Greenville University
1130 GA 500 600 530 630 22 26 Southern Polytechnic State University
1130 MA 510 610 520 620 22 28 Stonehill College
1130 CA 460 600 530 670 21 27 University of California-Irvine
1130 OH 490 620 510 640 22 28 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
1130 MA 500 600 530 630 22 28 University of Massachusetts-Lowell
1130 CA 510 610 520 620 23 27 University of Redlands
1130 NC 530 660 480 590 23 27 Warren Wilson College
1128 ND 490 625 490 650 21 26 North Dakota State University-Main Campus
1128 NY 505 635 510 605 22 28 The New School
1126 TX 472 656 476 648 18 27 Dallas Baptist University
1126 UT 483 620 500 648 21 27 University of Utah

5

Cost may require you to move schools to different categories.

For example, a school that is unaffordable no matter what becomes out-of-reach.

A school which is only affordable with a large merit scholarship must be moved to the category based on the selectivity of the merit scholarship, not the selectivity of admission.

Of course, SAT and ACT scores alone cannot determine reach/match/safety for admission selectivity, since other factors may cause a student to find a school to be in a different category than SAT and ACT scores alone may imply. For example, some Texas public universities can be admission safeties for those meeting the (mainly class rank based) automatic admission criteria, but can be reaches for all others competing for the few non-automatic admission spaces.

6

The most selective schools will have misleading stats. Nobody has better than a 25% chance of admission to them, and they are matches for nobody, with possible exception of Malala Youssafzai. Perhaps they are matches for Malia Obama. Stanford only accepts 25-30% of applicants with perfect 2400 SAT scores, allegedly. How can they be a match, by your statistical definition. Readers beware of amateur statisticians. It’s like the old story about the statistician who shoots twice at a target. One shot goes to the right; one goes to the left. Statistician shouts “I hit it!”

7

I forgot to mention that some schools had no ACT scores in the IPEDS data so I plugged in a “99” as a place holder.

As ucbalumnus points out, there are more factors involved than SAT and ACT. But, selectivity is a good starting point for narrowing down the reaches, matches, and safeties.

My philosophy is that students should go to the most selective school they can get into (which meets their other minimum criteria). I suggest they apply to more reaches than matches. The admissions process is often opaque and somewhat subjective. You never know. Don’t sell yourself short. Go for it. And, don’t rule out private schools until you see the financial aid offer in April. Go ahead and apply to private schools even though they have higher “sticker price”.

8

^ Couldn’t disagree more. My D was admitted to several ‘more selective’ schools than the one she is currently attending. It’s a better fit, she loves it, and I saved a boatload because of merit awards.

9

@collegehelp
If you’re between the 25th and 75th percentile then it’s a match, if you’re above the 75th then it’s a safety and if you’re below the 25th …yadda, yadda, yadda. If only it were that simple. It is FAR from it, especially at LACs which look at the full applicant. They regularly reject students who are accepted at “more selective” schools and regularly admit students who are rejected at “less selective” schools. Undergrad admissions is not the same as law school admissions. You can’t just simplify it down to straight numbers. That’s why smaller schools still do interviews. SAT scores do not determine selectivity or admission.

10

Yes, selectivity is a good starting point in assessing reach-match-safety chances.
In fact, selectivity (properly understood) is almost the entire point … along with (for most students)
the estimated net cost.

How should we compare selectivity? Some colleges have relatively high average test scores, but also have relatively high admission rates. Some other colleges are the opposite. And of course, many colleges consider other factors besides test scores (including GPA/rank and extracurricular activities).

US News calculates an overall Selectivity ranking from a weighted average of enrolled student SAT scores, the acceptance rate, and the percent of enrolled students who were in their HS top 10%. They’ve changed the weights over the years. Currrently, the three factors are weighted 65% X 25% X 10%, respectively, for “national universities” and “national LACs” (http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/09/08/best-colleges-ranking-criteria-and-weights).

11

Selectivity is best compared by noting what the minimum qualifications to be admitted are. However, this is an impossible measure for many colleges, because of:

a. Some colleges have holistic admissions processes with heavy weights on subjectively scored criteria (essays, recommendations, etc.), so the minimum qualifications to be admitted are quite fuzzy, and the admission process may be non-repeatable (i.e. if the college reran the admission process, it may not necessarily admit and reject all of the same applicants).

b. Some colleges have several buckets of different selectivity, often by major or division. Other possible buckets include such things as state residency (for state universities), early application programs (ED, EA, rolling), automatic admission categories, and “hook” characteristics.

Note that while SAT and ACT scores may be the closest thing to a common measure across all applicants, many colleges do not use them as the most important admission qualification, so that gauging selectivity using SAT and ACT score ranges can be misleading.

12

The list below shows what appear to be 50 of the most selective colleges.
I’ve sorted them according to a “weighted average rank” (the WAR in col. 1) using the same 65%-25%-10% weights USNWR uses for SAT scores, percentage of students in their HS top 10%, and admission rates.

Method:
SAT = AVERAGE(25th percentile SAT-CR, 75th percentile SAT-CR) + AVERAGE(25th percentile SAT-M, 75th percentile SAT-M) (using MS Excel’s “AVERAGE” function.)
T10% = % of students in HS top 10%
ADMISSION = admission rate

Colleges are ranked by each of the above three factors; then the WAR is calculated from the 3 sub-ranks.
WAR = .65 X SAT rank + .25X T10% rank + .10 X ADMISSION rank

Data Sources: 2013-14 CDS section C and US News.
Some colleges (including UChicago, Columbia, BC, and NYU) and are not listed below if I could not find published CDS files. However, I did include them (using other available data sources) in calculating the WARs.

Caveats:
1.This is just one possible estimate of “selectivity”. We don’t know what formula (if any) each college uses in its own admission process. It shouldn’t be hard to copy-and-paste the table below into a spreadsheet, assign your own weights, and re-rank. Nevertheless, we aren’t accounting for ECs, hooks, etc.
2. In many cases, the SAT and T10% numbers (as reported in the CDS) reflect much less than 100% of enrolled students
3. I try to be careful in reporting these numbers … but I don’t have a staff of error checkers.

I show LACs in bold and public colleges in italics.

WAR … COLLEGE …… SAT …… T10% …… ADMISSION

3 Cal Tech ( 1545 , 99% , 10.60% )
5 Harvard ( 1505 , 95% , 5.80% )
5 Yale ( 1505 , 95% , 6.90% )
6 MIT ( 1500 , 99% , 8.20% )
7 Princeton ( 1505 , 95% , 7.40% )
10 Stanford ( 1475 , 96% , 5.70% )
11 Washington U ( 1485 , 95% , 15.60% )
13 ** Harvey Mudd /b
14 Vanderbilt ( 1490 , 88% , 12.70% )
16 ** Pomona /b
17 Northwestern ( 1470 , 91% , 14% )
17 Dartmouth ( 1460 , 90% , 10.40% )
18 Penn ( 1450 , 94% , 12.20% )
20 Duke ( 1455 , 90% , 12.40% )
20 Brown ( 1435 , 94% , 9.20% )
21 Rice ( 1460 , 87% , 16.70% )
22 Tufts ( 1445 , 91% , 18.90% )
23 ** Swarthmore /b
24 ** Amherst /b
25 ** Williams /b

26 ** Bowdoin /b
28 Georgetown ( 1410 , 92% , 17.10% )
28 Notre Dame ( 1430 , 90% , 22.30% )

29 ** Haverford /b
29 JHU ( 1430 , 84% , 17.10% )
30 Carnegie Mellon ( 1435 , 80% , 25.50% )
30 Cornell ( 1420 , 87% , 15.60% )
33 ** Carleton /b
33 * UC Berkeley /i
35 ** Wellesley /b
35 ** Claremont McK /b
39 ** W&L /b
39 USC ( 1380 , 88% , 19.80% )
41 ** Wesleyan /b
42 ** Middlebury /b
43 ** Vassar /b
43 * GA Tech /i
44 ** Hamilton /b
45 * UVA /i
47 Northeastern ( 1390 , 64% , 32.30% )
47 Rensselaer ( 1389 , 72% , 41.20% )
48 * W&M /i
48 Emory ( 1365 , 76% , 26.50% )
50 * Michigan /i
50 ** Scripps /b
50 ** Colgate /b

13

Very interesting, tk. Thanks. Yours is a more complete basis for ranking by selectivity than mine. Helpful to see your method laid out explicitly. Where is U Chicago? Italics = public. Bold = LAC.

14

As I indicated, Chicago does not publish a Common Data Set.
Based only on its USNWR entry*, its numbers appear to be:
Chicago ( 1515 , 98% , 8.80% )
Using my 65-25-10 calculation methods, that would place it 2nd in the above table.
Again, these calculations don’t account for ECs, “hooks”, or any other factors besides the 3 stats (SAT, rank, admit rate). So you cannot conclude that Chicago has become truly “more selective” than HYPSM.

  • Chicago's USNWR entry shows a slightly higher SAT-M range (720-790) than its CollegeData.com entry (720-760). Its entry on collegeapps.about.com does show the same SAT ranges as its USNWR entry.
15

Right, tk. I should read more carefully.

What makes more selective colleges better?
talent of fellow students
fellow students are academically motivated
talent of faculty
quality of instruction
level of instruction that challenges excellent students
faculty-student mutual respect and interest
professional maturity and accomplishments of faculty
personal maturity of faculty
resources and facilities
academic climate
mentoring/role models
maturity and dedication of fellow students
originality and sophistication of ideas that are presented/discussed
opportunities for research and academic/professional experience
advantages seeking jobs and grad schools later
professional contacts of faculty
quality of academic advising
special culture, tradition, history
imparts a sense of pride and accomplishment
prestige factor
environment that imparts desire for excellence
social consciousness/moral awareness/cultural growth
fun and pleasures that are not malicious or self destructive

16

A lot of the schools on this list are test-optional, especially once you get past the first 50. Which makes it a lot less meaningful ‘ranking’ than it appears. Also, the attitude that one should just attend the highest ranked school on this list regardless of other factors is ridiculous. My youngest picked Mudd over U Chicago, and is likely much happier for it. Oldest took merit at a school ranked lower than her “top” admission on this list. Graduated Phi Beta Kappa with no debt, landed a great job even in the recession, and has been promoted several times since. It really ISN’T all about test scores.

17

I agree that it isn’t all about test scores but, for most applicants, selectivity, however it is measured, should be the second most important criterion. Offering your major would be the most important. Then other factors should be considered like location, size, cost, and so on. I don’t place a whole lot of stock in the “campus visit”. The “feel” you get from the visit can be misleading although a really ugly, dirty campus would be turn-off. Cost should only become a factor in April after you get the financial aid package. And, no, a difference in ranking of plus or minus 10 positions probably doesn’t make much difference.

18

@collegehelp “Cost should only become a factor in April after you get the financial aid package.”

That right there is unbelievably bad advice, maybe the worst I’ve ever seen.

19

It is generally advisable to apply to a “financial safety” but don’t dismiss private schools based on sticker price during the application process. The lower your family income, the less expensive the school will be for you. For the large majority of applicants, it will be difficult to determine the final cost especially at schools that give lots of merit aid. For example, most applicants don’t realize that Harvard, on average, is less expensive than a public school for families with average income. There are other selective private schools that make themselves affordable for the students who are accepted. Selective schools make themselves affordable by offering scholarships, grants, and on-campus jobs. Applicants can’t do an accurate cost-benefits assessment until all the information is available in April.

20

That slam aside, I do think the general idea of using incoming class test scores as a way to measure selectivity is a good idea (and even better if some measures of academic performance like GPA, class rank, rigor of schedule are included.) This is almost certainly more meaningful information than published admission rate or yield, which are subject to “reputation inflation.”

@ucbalumnus "Cost may require you to move schools to different categories.

For example, a school that is unaffordable no matter what becomes out-of-reach.

A school which is only affordable with a large merit scholarship must be moved to the category based on the selectivity of the merit scholarship, not the selectivity of admission."

This is a very important point and I agree wholeheartedly, hence my comment #17 above.

However, I don’t really agree with this:

"Note that while SAT and ACT scores may be the closest thing to a common measure across all applicants, many colleges do not use them as the most important admission qualification, so that gauging selectivity using SAT and ACT score ranges can be misleading. "

I am not denying that holistic admissions are practiced by many elite colleges, nor am I arguing some variant of the “test scores guarantee admission” canard, but if you actually look at the test scores of admitted students at the top 50 colleges, there is no doubt that scores and grades are a huge part of the admissions decision, even at those schools, or you would not see the strong correlation between quality factors (rankings, admit rate, etc) and test scores that most definitely exists.

I do agree with the point that you made about majors or colleges with a given school having different admissions criteria. Analyzing by overall institutional test scores is most valid when looking at schools that have more homogeneous student bodies, like LACs.