The 325 most selective schools ranked by SAT 75th percentile

College Search & Selection
1

<p>from US Dept of Education 2010-11 data (IPEDS)
selectivity based on SAT
SAT includes Critical Reading and Math</p>

<p>SAT 25th, SAT 75th, college name, percent of incoming students submitting SAT</p>

<p>1390 1590 Harvard University 91
1470 1580 California Institute of Technology 93
1400 1580 Yale University 91
1400 1580 Princeton University 91
1410 1560 Harvey Mudd College 93
1410 1560 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 93
1400 1560 University of Chicago 73
1380 1560 Pomona College 80
1370 1550 Columbia University in the City of New York 96
1360 1550 Stanford University 89
1350 1550 Dartmouth College 75
1390 1540 Washington University in St Louis 63
1340 1540 Amherst College 69
1340 1540 Rice University 87
1360 1530 Vanderbilt University 46
1360 1530 Northwestern University 75
1350 1530 University of Pennsylvania 87
1340 1530 Swarthmore College 87
1340 1530 Duke University 87
1330 1530 Brown University 85
1310 1530 Williams College 96
1320 1510 University of Notre Dame 49
1220 1510 Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art 95
1350 1500 Tufts University 71
1310 1500 Bowdoin College 70
1300 1500 Georgetown University 94
1300 1500 Carleton College 68
1300 1500 Cornell University 90
1300 1500 Carnegie Mellon University 94
1290 1500 Wesleyan University 74
1290 1500 Johns Hopkins University 85
1300 1490 Haverford College 88
1300 1480 Claremont McKenna College 77
1300 1480 Emory University 84
1290 1480 Middlebury College 79
1270 1480 Wellesley College 80
1300 1470 Hamilton College 56
1270 1470 University of Southern California 82
1220 1470 Grinnell College 55
1310 1460 Reed College 88
1310 1460 Vassar College 74
1310 1460 Washington and Lee University 82
1270 1460 Colgate University 69
1260 1460 Brandeis University 84
1230 1460 University of California-Berkeley 98
1280 1450 Oberlin College 78
1280 1450 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 69
1270 1450 Scripps College 78
1260 1450 Macalester College 65
1250 1450 Case Western Reserve University 68
1240 1450 New York University 79
1220 1450 University of Virginia-Main Campus 94
1260 1440 College of William and Mary 91
1250 1440 Barnard College 82
1230 1440 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 38
1260 1430 Davidson College 85
1250 1430 Kenyon College 72
1250 1430 Boston College 80
1230 1430 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus 93
1220 1430 Whitman College 85
1210 1430 St John's College 60
1210 1430 Wheaton College 56
1210 1430 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 24
1200 1430 St. Olaf College 37
1250 1420 Colby College 64
1230 1420 University of Rochester 82
1170 1420 Bryn Mawr College 86
1220 1410 New College of Florida 91
1220 1410 Colorado College 50
1210 1410 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 97
1130 1410 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 13
1130 1410 Illinois Institute of Technology 32
1230 1400 Tulane University of Louisiana 51
1200 1400 Thomas Aquinas College 84
1150 1400 University of California-Los Angeles 97
1130 1400 University of Tulsa 32
1230 1390 Northeastern University 70
1220 1390 SUNY at Geneseo 61
1220 1390 Lehigh University 87
1210 1390 Villanova University 86
1190 1390 University of Maryland-College Park 92
1170 1390 American University 79
1170 1390 University of Wisconsin-Madison 22
1145 1390 Illinois Wesleyan University 13
1130 1390 Truman State University 8
1230 1380 United States Air Force Academy 51
1220 1380 Gettysburg College 84
1220 1380 Bucknell University 70
1210 1380 University of Miami 57
1200 1380 George Washington University 80
1200 1380 Occidental College 69
1200 1380 SUNY at Binghamton 93
1190 1380 Denison University 28
1180 1380 Hendrix College 49
1180 1380 University of Richmond 84
1150 1380 Rhodes College 68
1150 1380 University of California-San Diego 98
1120 1380 Beloit College 40
1200 1370 Trinity College 53
1190 1370 Polytechnic Institute of New York University 90
1180 1370 Furman University 89
1180 1370 Lafayette College 86
1170 1370 Trinity University 61
1160 1370 Centre College 28
1150 1370 Brigham Young University 28
1130 1370 Hampshire College 79
1130 1370 Kalamazoo College 43
1130 1370 The University of Texas at Dallas 92
1110 1370 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 34
1060 1370 New Saint Andrews College 62
1200 1368 Dickinson College 58
1130 1366 Grove City College 87
1180 1360 Colorado School of Mines 47
1170 1360 University of Florida 71
1160 1360 Sewanee-The University of the South 60
1160 1360 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus 98
1150 1360 United States Coast Guard Academy 84
1140 1360 United States Naval Academy 81
1120 1360 Muhlenberg College 68
1100 1360 The University of Texas at Austin 88
1080 1360 Cornell College 36
1190 1350 Pitzer College 44
1170 1350 Boston University 89
1150 1350 The College of New Jersey 96
1140 1350 United States Military Academy 82
1140 1350 Southern Methodist University 65
1130 1350 Austin College 52
1130 1350 Ohio State University-Main Campus 46
1110 1350 Pepperdine University 82
1080 1350 University of Dallas 78
1180 1340 Stevens Institute of Technology 92
1160 1340 Willamette University 84
1160 1340 Fordham University 85
1140 1340 Skidmore College 85
1130 1340 St. Mary's College of Maryland 94
1130 1340 University of Puget Sound 82
1130 1340 Kettering University 28
1120 1340 Santa Clara University 85
1110 1340 The College of Wooster 67
1110 1340 Michigan Technological University 10
1095 1340 Yeshiva University 80
1090 1340 Saint Louis University-Main Campus 21
1080 1340 Union University 19
1040 1340 Transylvania University 22
1108 1334 University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Campus 100
1150 1330 Emerson College 88
1130 1330 University of Georgia 93
1120 1330 Allegheny College 71
1100 1330 Southwestern University 93
1100 1330 University of Washington-Seattle Campus 90
1100 1330 Texas A & M University 69
1060 1330 Luther College 10
1090 1327 University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 100
1120 1320 Ursinus College 88
1120 1320 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 95
1110 1320 Loyola University New Orleans 52
1110 1320 Baylor University 55
1080 1320 University of California-Santa Barbara 97
1080 1320 Drake University 14
1070 1320 University of California-Davis 98
1050 1320 Earlham College 65
1050 1320 Calvin College 34
1040 1320 University of Nebraska-Lincoln 8
1130 1310 University of Connecticut 94
1130 1310 Clemson University 79
1120 1310 Elon University 100
1110 1310 Drexel University 86
1110 1310 Stony Brook University 93
1100 1310 University of Denver 50
1100 1310 Auburn University 20
1100 1310 University of Maryland-Baltimore County 94
1090 1310 Rochester Institute of Technology 74
1080 1310 The King’s College 71
1080 1310 Wofford College 88
1080 1310 DePauw University 67
1072 1310 DigiPen Institute of Technology 68
1070 1310 Milwaukee School of Engineering 6
1040 1310 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus 37
1020 1310 Coe College 12
1010 1310 Northland College 16
1120 1300 Rollins College 67
1120 1300 University of San Diego 79
1120 1300 Bentley University 84
1110 1300 Loyola Marymount University 84
1110 1300 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo 94
1090 1300 Chapman University 84
1090 1300 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus 82
1085 1300 Marquette University 20
1080 1300 University of Portland 99
1080 1300 Rutgers University-New Brunswick 97
1080 1300 Ohio Northern University 36
1070 1300 Clark University 87
1070 1300 Westmont College 77
1070 1300 University of Missouri-Columbia 9
1070 1300 University of Delaware 95
1060 1300 Cedarville University 57
1060 1300 University of St Thomas 8
1060 1300 Hope College 18
1050 1300 Franciscan University of Steubenville 66
1040 1300 Ohio Wesleyan University 58
1000 1300 University of Minnesota-Morris 10
1120 1290 College of Charleston 64
1110 1290 Florida State University 47
1105 1290 Loyola University Maryland 61
1090 1290 University of South Carolina-Columbia 71
1080 1290 Loyola University Chicago 29
1080 1290 Gonzaga University 87
1070 1290 University of Colorado Boulder 49
1070 1290 Creighton University 34
1070 1290 University of California-Irvine 98
1060 1290 Warren Wilson College 74
1060 1290 Whitworth University 72
1060 1290 Millsaps College 29
1050 1290 Pratt Institute-Main 87
1050 1290 Wagner College 81
1040 1290 University of the Pacific 90
1040 1290 Purdue University-Main Campus 79
1020 1285 University of Alabama in Huntsville 18
1120 1280 Christopher Newport University 50
1085 1280 University of Vermont 87
1080 1280 Mercer University 68
1080 1280 Alma College 5
1080 1280 University of Central Florida 53
1080 1280 North Carolina State University at Raleigh 94
1070 1280 Miami University-Oxford 43
1060 1280 Juniata College 80
1060 1280 The University of Tennessee 22
1060 1280 Indiana University-Bloomington 75
1050 1280 Covenant College 72
1050 1280 Birmingham Southern College 41
1050 1280 Texas Christian University 50
1050 1280 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College 14
1020 1280 Goshen College 75
1010 1280 William Jewell College 12
1050 1275 Wabash College 82
1100 1270 Hofstra University 71
1090 1270 CUNY Bernard M Baruch College 85
1070 1270 University of North Carolina at Asheville 96
1060 1270 University of Mary Washington 91
1060 1270 Berry College 54
1060 1270 Ithaca College 91
1060 1270 Syracuse University 85
1050 1270 Seattle University 86
1050 1270 Belmont University 49
1050 1270 Providence College 88
1050 1270 Clarkson University 91
1040 1270 Gordon College 87
1040 1270 Oklahoma City University 33
1030 1270 Messiah College 95
1030 1270 University of California-Santa Cruz 98
1020 1270 Berea College 17
1010 1268 University of Louisville 11
1060 1260 University of Massachusetts Amherst 95
1050 1260 University at Buffalo 92
1040 1260 DePaul University 21
1040 1260 Florida Institute of Technology 69
1035 1260 Samford University 45
1030 1260 Seattle Pacific University 87
1010 1260 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus 42
1000 1260 Montana State University 41
1080 1250 University of North Carolina-Wilmington 93
1070 1250 Washington College 84
1070 1250 Appalachian State University 97
1070 1250 Marist College 87
1060 1250 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry 94
1050 1250 Butler University 38
1040 1250 University of St Thomas 69
1030 1250 Manhattanville College 86
1020 1250 Saint Michael's College 99
1020 1250 Colorado State University 29
1020 1250 University of Arkansas 26
1010 1250 Westminster College 41
1000 1250 Pacific Lutheran University 76
1042 1243 University of Puerto Rico at Cayey 100
1050 1240 George Mason University 80
1050 1240 James Madison University 97
1050 1240 Fairfield University 93
1040 1240 Oglethorpe University 79
1040 1240 Siena College 78
1030 1240 Point Loma Nazarene University 87
1000 1240 Wittenberg University 38
1150 1230 Albion College 5
1060 1230 University of North Florida 50
1040 1230 Virginia Military Institute 84
1030 1230 University of Evansville 66
1030 1230 University of South Florida-Main Campus 54
1010 1230 Arcadia University 92
1010 1230 Western Washington University 92
1010 1230 Hampden-Sydney College 100
1000 1230 Xavier University 58
1030 1225 Southern Polytechnic State University 80
1060 1220 Georgia College & State University 82
1060 1220 Bryant University 99
1040 1220 State University of New York at New Paltz 94
1030 1220 CUNY Hunter College 87
1030 1220 University of Scranton 83
1020 1220 Susquehanna University 82
1020 1220 University of Dayton 51
1010 1220 Saint Edward's University 68
1010 1220 McDaniel College 86
1000 1220 University of San Francisco 84
1000 1220 Lipscomb University 24
1050 1210 Salisbury University 70
1030 1210 Duquesne University 93
1030 1210 Saint Joseph's University 93
1030 1210 SUNY at Albany 95
1010 1210 Catholic University of America 94
1010 1210 Hanover College 50
1010 1210 Temple University 96
1010 1210 University of Redlands 85
1010 1210 Ramapo College of New Jersey 6
1060 1200 SUNY College at Oswego 96
1020 1200 California Lutheran University 88
1000 1200 Champlain College 82
1010 1190 Salve Regina University 92
1010 1190 SUNY at Fredonia 84
1000 1190 Simmons College 91
1040 1183 Rockford College 4
1010 1180 North Georgia College & State University 86
1010 1180 SUNY College at Oneonta 99
1020 1170 Georgia Southern University 81
1010 1170 Flagler College 73
1040 1140 Blackburn College 3
1079 1139 Texas A & M University at Galveston 92
1010 1130 Abilene Christian University 54
1070 1100 Texas A & M University-Texarkana 4</p>

2

<p>does most selective not equal to acceptance rate?
Example: I know that Michigan Ann Arbor has a much higher acceptance rate compared to UCLA like 50% to 23% according to my FISKE guide</p>

3

<p>Very interesting list; the rankings seem to be similar to the much maligned (on cc) USWNR</p>

4

<p>^^the applicant pool is probably weaker for UCLA; California has a huge population of HS students but so many of them are weak. As a state, it ranks pretty low. Michigan/upper midwest has less population but the students are better on average.</p>

5

<p>Very interesting. Thanks for posting.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>Is this the highest 25-75 percentile SAT CR+M range for a college that is either for-profit or not regionally accredited?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>The UCs also tend to emphasize standardized test scores less than high school grades. For example, USC has significantly higher test scores than UCLA, but a previous thread here pointed to a list of students at one southern California high school and all of their college applications and decisions; many more students were accepted at USC but rejected at UCLA than were accepted at UCLA but rejected at USC.</p>

7

<p>Can we sticky this?</p>

8

<p>@wonderva
I think SAT is the best indicator of quality. Acceptance rate is determined partly by quality but also by factors that have nothing to do with quality. For example, the acceptance rate at West Point is about 11% but it is not on par with Harvard (although West Point is a great school). </p>

<p>@ucbalumnus
Digipen has the highest SATs of any for-profit that I found.</p>

9

<p>For some schools this is meaningless. UIUC only 24% take SAT. Many others have SATs submitted by fewer than 10%. </p>

<p>Could you do the same for ACT, please?</p>

10

<p>So if I interpret this “new” ranking correctly, you need to be really smart to get into places like the Ivies, Stanford, MIT & CalTech!</p>

<p>Wow! Thanks for all the typing.</p>

11

<p>I like how the list ranks both LACs and other universities together, unlike USNWR. Thanks.</p>

12

<p>This would be interesting to see with ACT scores as well. As your % of submitting SAT scores indicate, many more in the Midwest take the ACT rather than the SAT. You see % of SAT submitted as 38% at Umich, 24% at UICU, UW-Madison 22% and 13% at U of MN.</p>

13

<p>Good list and basically correlates with USNEWS - Caltech is the school that really pops out</p>

14

<p>There are several problems with this compilation.</p>

<p>First, these are not the 25th-75th percentile SAT scores. What you have done is to sum the 75th percentile CR and 75th percentile Math to get a fictional SAT score that doesn’t statistically represent anything.</p>

<p>If I admit 40 students to my school with the following SAT scores:</p>

<p>10 @ CR 200 M 800 Total 1000
10 @ CR 500 M 600 Total 1100
10 @ CR 450 M 700 Total 1150
10 @ CR 800 M 210 Total 1010</p>

<p>My CR 25th = 450, 75th = 800
My M 25th = 600, 75th = 800</p>

<p>However, my composite 25th-75th is 1010-1150, NOT 1050-1600.</p>

<p>Also somehow your calculations got fouled. For example, the University of Alabama should be on the list at 1260, but it’s not. Holy Cross should be on the list at 1380, but it’s not. South Florida at 1250, etc.</p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>Not necessarily. It is known to be a weaker predictor of college performance than high school courses and grades are.</p>

<p>[CSHE</a> - Validity Of High-School Grades In Predicting Student Success Beyond The Freshman Year: High-School Record vs. Standardized Tests as Indicators of Four-Year College Outcomes](<a href=“Publications | Center for Studies in Higher Education”>Publications | Center for Studies in Higher Education)</p>

<p>The SAT and other standardized tests are important in the US only because there is inconsistency in the course rigor and grading in high schools (and use of standardized tests can help deter high schools from making courses even less rigorous or inflating grades even more than they do today). In other countries like Canada, universities can actually trust that a course and grade on a high school transcript actually means what it says, so standardized testing is not needed.</p>

16

<p>

</p>

<p>Which suggests in turn that USNWR is basically a “selectivity ranking”, or, at least, is a ranking that is based on criteria that are strongly correlated with selectivity.</p>

<p>Readers should be aware also that, in some of the universities listed above, the percentile SAT scores for individual colleges/programs within the university may be actually much higher than the global scores for the university as a whole, giving a misleading impression that university is less selective than it actually is.</p>

17

<p>

Test scores are the best measure of selectivity.</p>

18

<p>Now I understand why people got in Cornell but Harvard simply because they did not have high SAT scores.</p>

<p>I used to have a notion that no matter how high your SAT score is, you can not get into HYPSM.</p>

19

<p>

</p>

<p>Not only are the schools not comparable, but the multi-tiered application process of the military academies obscures the real admission rate. The 11 percent acceptance rate is just as bogus as lumping the academies with the LACs.</p>

20

<p>

</p>

<p>Well, should it not be expected that the best colleges are culled from a list of most selective schools? Duh!</p>

<p>On the other hand, the selectivity index is also obscured by the tools used by the USNews to “level the playing field.” In addition, all what one needs is to compare the selectivity of Harvey Mudd to the all-female schools to understand that selectivity does not correlate with the final rankings. The impact of the abject geographical cronyism of the Peer Assessment is much larger than the mere selectivity index. </p>

<p>And last but not least, schools with high selectivity indexes that also have a tough curriculum (read heavy STEM) are penalized through the expected graduation rate. </p>

<p>All in all, although the basic correlation exists, the USNEWS is NOT a selectivity ranking.</p>