How hard is it to get into the nation's most selective universities? See the 25 lowest acceptance rates in the US.

• Business Insider compiled the nation’s 25 universities that are the hardest to get into.
• Eight universities had an acceptance rate of under 5% in 2024.
• Fear of rejection is driving students to apply to more schools, pushing down admission rates.

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. 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

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