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

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

Tristin Hoffman Business 10 Sep, 2026 Americas

These are the hardest universities across the US to receive an acceptance letter from.

College graduates walk next to a brick building.
Harvard's Class of 2029 received 47,893 applications. The university accepted less than 4% of those applicants.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

  • 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.

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
A marching band walks across a college campus.
SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 15: The Band of the Fighting Irish march across campus on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Photo by Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images

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
Students walk on a college campus.
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 23: College students file across the BU College of Communication campus at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts on April 23, 2015. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

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
Students walk on a college campus.
BERKELEY, CA - APRIL 17: UC Berkeley students walk through Sather Gate on the UC Berkeley campus April 17, 2007 in Berkeley, California. Robert Dynes, President of the University of California, said the University of California campuses across the state will reevaluate security and safety policies in the wake of the shooting mass

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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
Students walk on a college campus.
oung people are seen on the Emory University campus in Atlanta, Georgia on October 14, 2022. - Riven by angst over a warming planet, fearful for democracy and facing a financially uncertain future, young people tend to be among the most politically engaged groups in the United States.

ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images

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
Students walk on a college campus.
OS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 17, 2025 -- Students, academics and visitors walk past the Tommy Trojan statue at USC on October 17, 2025.

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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
Students walk on a city college campus.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 30: People walk by New York University (NYU) as tensions between supporters of Palestine and Israel increase on college campuses across the nation on October 30, 2023 in New York City.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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
Students walk on a college campus.
os Angeles, CA - April 08: Students walk through campus at University of California, Los Angeles on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA

Ronaldo Bolaños/Getty Images

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
Students walk on a college campus.
professor lectures students at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, US, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. US college costs just keep climbing and the increase is pushing the annual price for the upcoming academic year at Ivy League schools toward yet another hold-on-to-your-mortarboard mark.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

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
Students walk in the gardens of a college campus.
NITED STATES - AUGUST 21: New students and their parents walk outside Lovett Hall during an orientation tour on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 21, 2009.

Craig Hartley/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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
Students in purple attire cheer on a football game.
EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 5: Rohit Katakam, center, a Northwestern student, cheers during a football game against Indiana University at Martin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

Vincent Alban for The Washington Post via Getty Images

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
Two students walk on a college campus at sunset.
Two students walk on a brick path in front of Gilman Hall on the Keyser Quadrangle of the Homewood campus of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, 2014.

JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images

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
Students on campus.
ashville, Tenn., - Oct., 24, 2023: Students make their way around campus at Vanderbilt University. (Photo by William DeShazer for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

William DeShazer for The Washington Post via Getty Images

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
Students on a college campus.
People walk by Duke Chapel on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, U.S., on Friday, March 26, 2010.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

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)
A college campus.
Baker-Berry Library on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. Dartmouth Colleges endowment returned 47% in the fiscal year that ended in June, the latest university to post some of the strongest investment gains in decades.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

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)
A student on a bike rides through a college campus.
HILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES - APRIL 18: A view from the University of Pennsylvania as the Trump administration suspended $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over controversy surrounding swimmer Lia Thomas, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, on April 18, 2025.

Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images

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)
Students walk on a snow-covered campus.
ROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - DECEMBER 14: Students walk through the campus at Brown University following a mass shooting yesterday that left at least two people dead and nine others injured on December 14, 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island. A suspect in the shooting was detained overnight at a hotel in a nearby community

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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
Two students walk on a college campus.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 14: Students walk Northeastern University campus on September 14, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. On Tuesday evening, a university employee was injured when a package sent to the virtual reality lab at Holmes Hall exploded when he opened it. (

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

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
Students walk on a college campus.
eople walk on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013. Residents in Princeton, New Jersey, have sued the municipality and the university, saying the school should lose its tax-exempt status because it shares royalties from patents with faculty.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

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)
A student walks on a college campus.
he Maclaurin Buildings on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. The presidents of Harvard University and MIT have been under scrutiny amid furor over their remarks to Congress about antisemitism on campus.

MIT

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)
Students walk on a college campus.
Hyde Park campus, University of Chicago.

: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

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
Students walk on a college campus.
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 02: Students walk past the main entrance of Columbia University on the first day of the fall semester in New York City, United States on September 2, 2025.

Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images

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
A student walks through a college campus.
he Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut, US, on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Campuses across the US have been grappling with pro-Palestinian protests and counter demonstrations since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

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)
Students walk on a college campus.
CAMBRIDGE, MA - MAY 24: A glimpse into the Harvard University campus on May 24, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thousands of foreign students at Harvard University were stuck in administrative limbo and looking for alternatives on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard's ability t

Zhu Ziyu/VCG via Getty Images

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)
Students at Stanford University in Stanford, California, US, in 2023.
A Stanford professor says AI is driving students to pause degrees and chase startups like a modern gold rush.

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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
A man and child stands before a pond.
The California Institute of Technology is the most difficult US university to get into.

The Image Party/Shutterstock

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

Read the original article on Business Insider

Tristin Hoffman

Source: Business Insider

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