Top 30 Hardest Colleges To Get Into with Lowest Acceptance Rates

· Updated May 7, 2024 · 10 minutes · by Kamerpower ·

Top 30 Hardest Colleges To Get Into with Lowest Acceptance Rates

Top 30 Hardest Colleges To Get Into in US, UK, Canada, Australia with Lowest Acceptance Rates. The hardest colleges to get into in the US show us that it’s not just good grades and test scores that matter. The factors considered by many admissions officers are more well-rounded. They look at each applicant from many angles. These include their achievements, interests and potential. Kamerpower.com

Many high school students strive for the highest GPA and test scores to give themselves the best shot at getting into competitive colleges. While strong grades and test scores can certainly increase your chances, they might still not be enough to gain admission into every college. The country’s most selective schools all have extremely rigorous admission standards and accept very few applicants.

What are the 10 hardest college to get into in US?

• Harvard University.
• Columbia University.
• Princeton University.
• Yale University.
• Brown University.
• Caltech.
• Stanford University.
• MIT.
• Wellesley College.
• Grinnell College
• University of California, Berkeley.

Hardest Colleges To Get Into In the World

Hardest Colleges To Get Into In US

1. Harvard University

Harvard University tops the list with its 5% acceptance rate. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ivy League university has earned a reputation for developing world leaders. The university doesn’t just look at academics during admission. Instead, Harvard assesses each student as a whole, considering their character and academic potential.

You need at least the following to apply to study at Harvard: 

• GPA of 4.18 or higher.
• SAT score: Minimum score of 1500+ in SAT.
• 7.5 or higher on the IELTS test.

2. Dartmouth College. 

Dartmouth College is another member of the Ivy League and is known for its rigorous academics and strong undergraduate focus. The acceptance rate at Dartmouth was 6.4% for the 2026 class applications. Students looking to go here must excel in high school and have an average SAT score between 1440-1560 or an average ACT score of 32-35. Despite it being one of the hardest colleges to get into, Dartmouth aims to be as diverse and inclusive as possible through various initiatives and engagements.

3. Yale University

Yale College admitted 2,275 students to the class of 2027 from its largest-ever pool of 52,250 applicants. Yale also practices optional submission of standardised testing scores, which means if students do not want to submit SAT or ACT scores, they need to pay attention to high school transcripts, recommendation letters, and essays. Yale ranks as one of the hardest colleges to get into with a 4.47% acceptance rate for the class of 2026, down just slightly from its 4.62% acceptance rate for the class of 2025.

4. University of Pennsylvania

Penn’s undergraduate admission rate fell from 8.6% for the class of 2024 to just 5.87% for the class of 2025. The university prioritizes academic excellence. The most competitive applicants have high grades and have undertaken rigorous coursework. Penn also looks for students with unique backgrounds and talents and who will positively contribute to the community. These personal characteristics are typically determined by examining an applicant’s extracurriculars, interviews, and two Penn-specific personal essays.

5. Princeton University

Princeton is extremely competitive to get into, with a 4.38% acceptance rate for the class of 2025. The Ivy aims to identify students who will positively contribute and bring unique perspectives to its community. Rather than looking for a specific set of academic criteria, Princeton prefers applicants who have challenged themselves with rigorous honors and AP courses.

6. Stanford University

With a 3.95% admission rate for the class of 2025, Stanford falls just slightly behind Caltech. At Stanford, your academic record is the most important factor in determining admission. The university also looks at components beyond numerical data, such as extracurricular activities and personal essays, which allow you to illustrate your unique background and experiences.

7. Columbia University.

Infinitesimal chances at admission is not a new phenomenon here—the acceptance rate is 3.73%. There are seven main factors that are given primary importance as part of the university’s holistic process: rigor of curriculum, class rank, grades, essays, recommendation, extracurricular activities and character/personal qualities.

8. MIT

A leading technical school, MIT currently boasts an ultra-low acceptance rate of 3.96% for the class of 2026. MIT is seeking the world’s sharpest and most innovative minds in engineering, the sciences, mathematics, and related fields who, one day, will create the world the rest of us will merely inhabit. Legacy status is not considered at MIT, a rarity among elite universities, meaning that the alumni connection of your mother, grandfather, or brother plays zero role in helping you gain admission.

9. Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt admitted just 6.1% of first-year applicants this year, making it one of the 10 hardest colleges to get into. The university accepted a mere 4.7% of regular decision applicants. Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, has positioned itself as not only one of the South’s most selective institutions but as one of the country’s ultra-elite universities. Seven categories are deemed “very important” by this university’s admissions committee: rigor of classes, GPA, class rank, standardized test scores, application essay, character/personal qualities, and extracurricular involvement.

10. Georgetown University

It has an acceptance Rate of 11.7%. The nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university also happens to be one of the best institutions in the country; there are few admissions surprises here. Test scores around the 97th percentile and near-perfect grades in an AP-heavy course load are virtually required.

11. Tufts University  

Like other Ivy and Ivy-equivalent schools, Tufts with acceptance Rate of 9.7% is looking for the best and the brightest and is competing with even bigger names to haul in the best candidates. Therefore, demonstrating commitment through Early Decision can pay dividends for qualified applicants.

12. Rice University

Rice with acceptance Rate of 8.6% is at once a powerhouse research institution and a place where world-class instruction is the norm. An intimidating 92% of Rice students placed in the top 10% of their high school class, and 98% were in the top quartile.

13. Barnard College.  

With an acceptance Rate of 8% and affiliated with Columbia University, this all-women’s college serves 3,043 accomplished young women in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Sterling grades, solid test scores, and winning personal attributes are the right combination to receive serious consideration at one of, if not the best women’s college in existence.

14. California Institute of Technology

With its reputation for developing some of the most esteemed engineers in the country, Cal Tech, in Pasadena, California, has a 7% acceptance rate. It boasts of very high research activity and is defined by its prowess in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Its admissions team recruits students with the most strength and diversity — which can be many things. To them, there is no single type of “Caltech student”.

15. Swarthmore College  

This liberal arts college has never been more difficult to get into as applications have tripled since the turn of the millennium. With Acceptance Rate of 6.95%. The admissions committee ranks six factors as being of paramount importance in the admissions process: rigor of secondary coursework, class rank, GPA, application essay, recommendations, and character/personal qualities.

16. Pomona College

Acceptance Rate: 6.6% (Class of 2025). Considered the preeminent institution among the Claremont Consortium, Pomona College in Claremont, California, is much like the elite liberal arts schools of the Northeast. If you are one of the rare individuals capable of gaining entrance, you won’t find a better or more rigorous liberal arts education anywhere.

17. Duke University

Duke with an acceptance rate of 6.2% is now more selective than several Ivies, which is no surprise given the university’s unique combination of academic prestige and extracurricular excitement. Like the Ivies, Duke routinely rejects valedictorians and teens with perfect standardized test scores. Successful applicants will have exceptional academic credentials, attention-grabbing essays, and special talents that set them apart from a crowded field of aspiring Blue Devils.

18. University of Chicago.

Acceptance Rate: 5%. UChicago is now in a selectivity stratosphere with Stanford, Yale, and Columbia. In 2005, the university admitted 40% of applicants. The university in 2022-23 is both test-optional and extraordinarily selective.

19. Johns Hopkins University

Current students landed in the top 10% of their high school classes at a 99% clip, so impeccable grades in the most competitive curriculum available are pretty much a prerequisite for consideration. Johns Hopkins with acceptance rate of 6.5% is now in the upper-upper tier of selectivity along with the Ivies, Stanford, and a small cadre of elite liberal arts colleges.

20. Amherst College  

Amherst with an acceptance rate of 6.93% offers a “New Curriculum” that requires no specific courses or distribution of credits. Students have the flexibility to pursue their areas of passion and interest from the very start of their collegiate experience. Successful applicants will be near (or at) the top of their high school class, have earned standardized test scores in the top 1-2%, and possess unique gifts/intangibles that help separate them from a mass of similarly qualified peers.

21. Carnegie Mellon University   

Successful applicants to CMU have taken the most rigorous high school schedules available to them, and the school also lists character/personal qualities, volunteer work, and extracurriculars among the most important factors for admission.

22. Northwestern University

According to the admissions office, rigor of courses, GPA, and class rank are among the eight factors that are “very important” in the admissions process. Northwestern has always been a highly selective school, but the bar has been raised even higher in recent years.

23. Williams College  

Williams College with its acceptance rate of 8.5% is Massachusetts’ second-oldest school (behind only Harvard) and one of the most prestigious liberal arts schools in the entire country. Williams seeks a racially and socioeconomically diverse group of uniquely talented students who will thrive in a close-knit academic community.

24. Cornell University   

The seven criteria deemed most important by the admissions office are rigor of coursework, grades, test scores, recommendations, essays, extracurriculars, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities. Having joined the other Ivy League institutions with single-digit acceptance rates, becoming part of Big Red is only a possibility for strongest college applicants.

25. Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, has a 9% acceptance rate.

Hardest Colleges to get into in Australia:

1. University of New South Wales.

Ensure you have these scores before applying to study at UNSW:  IELTS 6.0 and maintain a minimum percentage of 85.

2. University of Sydney

Getting into the University of Sydney is no walk in the park. Less than one in three applicants get accepted. You will first need to meet the requirements, which include the following: A GPA of 3.85, An IELTS overall score of 6.5.

Hardest universities to get into in the UK.

1. University of Cambridge.

Cambridge is one of hardest university to get into in the UK is the University of Cambridge. Renowned as one of the world’s oldest universities and leading academic institutions, Cambridge has high standards for its applicants. The university has an acceptance rate of 20% for international students.

To get into this excellent university, you will first need to have:

• An A Levels score of AAA
• A GPA of 3.7 
• 571 UCAS points. 

2. University of Oxford

As the best university in the UK, it is no surprise that the University of Oxford has the highest entry standards among all institutions in the country. The university is extremely selective with admissions, with a low acceptance rate of just 9% for international students. To get into this school, you first need to have the following:

• A Level grades of at least AAA.
• GPA of 3.75 out of 4.0
• 571 UCAS points.

Hardest universities to get into in Canada

1. University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is one of the top universities in Canada and is the largest bilingual university in the country. The university’s admissions are highly selective for international students, with an acceptance rate of 24%. To be considered for admission into an undergraduate programme, students must first have a minimum GPA of 4.

2. McMaster University 

McMaster University has one of the most stringent admission requirements compared to other institutions in Canada. It is one of the most prestigious universities in the country and has a low acceptance rate of 13.3% for international students. Before you can apply, you must first have a minimum GPA of 88% or higher, making it one of the hardest universities to get into in Canada.