People are applying to more colleges than ever before, but admission to some of the US’s top universities remains highly competitive.
Using federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Business Insider compiled a list of the 25 universities in the US that are hardest to get into in 2024.
With a few exceptions, universities are generally larger institutions that offer a wide range of academic programs, including bachelor’s and graduate degrees. They also often contain smaller colleges, such as colleges of education, engineering, or health sciences.
For the Class of 2028, admission rates at the hardest-to-get-into schools ranged from roughly 3% to 11% — and among the lowest were at Ivy Leagues, including Yale University, Harvard University, and Columbia University.
For instance, Yale University is the fourth-most competitive university on this list, with just about 4% of its 57,517 applicants admitted. Harvard’s is 3.6%.
With acceptance rates at some highly selective schools falling to record lows in the latest admissions cycle, students may increasingly look to less competitive — and often cheaper — options.
A May post by the college consulting firm Top Tier Admissions, declining admission rates are partly driven by students becoming increasingly worried about being rejected by schools, leading to a huge spike in applications per student. That, however, breeds more selectivity, and the cycle continues, the firm said. The increasing use of “early decision” to lock in students has also let universities become choosier during the regular decision cycle.
See the 25 universities across the US with the lowest admission rates in 2024. For context, each school’s tuition, applicants, student population, and most popular major were also included.
25. University of Notre Dame
Location: Notre Dame, Indiana
Applicants: 29,942
Acceptance rate: 11.3%
Student population: 13,000 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $69,280
Most popular major: Finance
24. Boston University
Location: Boston
Applicants: 78,769
Acceptance rate: 11.1%
Student population: 38,093 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $73,024
Most popular major: Business Administration and Management
23. University of California-Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, California
Applicants: 124,242
Acceptance rate: 11.0%
Student population: 45,882 students
2026-2027 Academic Year In-State Tuition: $18,214
Most popular major: Data science
22. Emory University
Location: Atlanta
Applicants: 33,450
Acceptance rate: 10.6%
Student population: 16,000 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $70,300
Most popular major: Management Sciences and Information Systems
21. University of Southern California
Location: Los Angeles
Applicants: 82,027
Acceptance rate: 9.8%
Student population: 46,000 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $75,384
Most popular major: Business
20. New York University
Location: New York City
Applicants: 110,807
Acceptance rate: 9.2%
Student population: 56,800 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $68,576
Most popular major: Visual and Performing Arts
19. University of California, Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles
Applicants: 146,272
Acceptance rate: 9.0%
Student population: 49,013 students
2026-2027 Academic Year In-State Tuition: $16,430
Most popular major: Business Economics
18. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Applicants: 62,993
Acceptance rate: 8.8%
Student population: 26,561 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $49,816
Most popular major: Computer Science
17. Rice University
Location: Houston
Applicants: 32,473
Acceptance rate: 8.0%
Student population: 9,200 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $71,140
Most popular major: Computer Science
16. Northwestern University
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Applicants: 49,474
Acceptance rate: 7.7%
Student population: 23,400 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $71,802
Most popular degree: Economics
15. Johns Hopkins University
Location: Baltimore
Applicants: 45,895
Acceptance rate: 6.4%
Student population: 30,210 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $68,670
Most popular major: Cellular and Molecular Biology
14. Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville
Applicants: 45,409
Acceptance rate: 5.9%
Student population: 13,575 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $69,822
Most popular degree: Human and Organizational Development
13. Duke University
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Applicants: 51,795
Acceptance rate: 5.7%
Student population: 17,325 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $73,740
Most popular degree: Computer Science
10. Dartmouth College (tie)
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Applicants: 31,656
Acceptance rate: 5.4%
Student population: 6,900 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $71,697
Most popular major: Economics
10. University of Pennsylvania (tie)
Location: Philadelphia
Applicants: 65,226
Acceptance rate: 5.4%
Student population: 29,384 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $65,670
Most popular major: Business, Management and Related Support Services
10. Brown University (tie)
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Applicants: 48,904
Acceptance rate: 5.4%
Student population: 11,164 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $74,568
Most popular major: Computer Science
9. Northeastern University
Location: Boston
Applicants: 98,425
Acceptance rate: 5.2%
Student population: 47,367 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $70,000
Most popular major: Business, Management, and Engineering
8. Princeton University
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Applicants: 40,468
Acceptance rate: 4.6%
Student population: 9,106 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $68,140
Most popular degree: Economics
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (tie)
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Applicants: 28,232
Acceptance rate: 4.5%
Student population: 11,816 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $92,760
Most popular major: Computer Science and Engineering
6. University of Chicago (tie)
Location: Chicago
Applicants: 43,612
Acceptance rate: 4.5%
Student population: 19,140 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $75,960
Most popular major: Economics
5. Columbia University
Location: New York City
Applicants: 60,115
Acceptance rate: 4.0%
Student population: 35,173 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $72,800
Most popular major: Computer Science
4. Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Applicants: 57,517
Acceptance rate: 3.9%
Student population: 15,657 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $94,100
Most popular degree: Economics
2. Harvard University (tie)
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Applicants: 54,008
Acceptance rate: 3.6%
Student population: 24,317 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $62,226
Most popular major: Economics
2. Stanford University (tie)
Location: Stanford, California
Applicants: 57,326
Acceptance rate: 3.6%
Student population: 17,314 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $67,731
Most popular major: Computer Science
1. California Institute of Technology
Location: Pasadena, California
Applicants: 13,856
Acceptance rate: 2.6%
Student population: 2,368 students
2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $68,574
Most popular degree: Computer Science
