College rankings on TheClassroom.com use recent data about four-year colleges from publicly available sources using transparent methodology. This is a ranking of colleges by acceptance rate in ascending order. Only colleges that are big are included. See if your school is in the ranking!
Most Selective Big Colleges
Top 20 by Acceptance Rate
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Most Selective Big Colleges - Complete List
| Rank | College | Acceptance Rate | Enrollment Yield | # Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Berkeley | 16.9% | 43.9% | 28,108 |
| 2 | University of California-Los Angeles | 18.0% | 37.4% | 30,343 |
| 3 | Liberty University | 24.4% | 38.9% | 27,112 |
| 4 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 28.6% | 42.1% | 27,969 |
| 5 | New York University | 31.9% | 31.4% | 24,888 |
| 5 | California State University-Long Beach | 31.9% | 21.0% | 27,953 |
| 7 | San Diego State University | 34.6% | 22.8% | 26,790 |
| 8 | University of California-San Diego | 35.7% | 18.0% | 27,386 |
| 9 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 35.8% | 18.1% | 21,199 |
| 10 | The University of Texas at Austin | 40.4% | 44.7% | 37,234 |
| 11 | University of California-Irvine | 40.6% | 20.7% | 26,889 |
| 12 | University of California-Davis | 42.3% | 19.6% | 28,564 |
| 13 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | 44.4% | 26.9% | 29,566 |
| 14 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 45.3% | 32.5% | 28,380 |
| 15 | University of Florida | 45.9% | 49.2% | 31,014 |
| 16 | University of South Florida-Main Campus | 46.6% | 30.1% | 24,013 |
| 17 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | 47.5% | 34.8% | 20,951 |
| 18 | University of Maryland-College Park | 48.1% | 31.2% | 26,350 |
| 19 | California State University-Fullerton | 48.2% | 19.9% | 27,994 |
| 19 | California State University-Northridge | 48.2% | 27.9% | 29,104 |
| 21 | University of Central Florida | 50.0% | 35.4% | 38,508 |
| 22 | Florida International University | 50.1% | 26.6% | 26,312 |
| 23 | Brigham Young University-Provo | 51.2% | 79.2% | 28,012 |
| 24 | Temple University | 52.2% | 29.7% | 26,277 |
| 25 | The University of Alabama | 52.6% | 37.5% | 29,220 |
| 25 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 52.6% | 37.1% | 28,577 |
| 27 | San Jose State University | 53.4% | 18.2% | 21,613 |
| 28 | University of Georgia | 53.9% | 44.2% | 26,328 |
| 29 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 54.1% | 32.7% | 41,862 |
| 30 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 56.0% | 26.9% | 29,309 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 56.4% | 28.3% | 40,139 |
| 32 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 56.9% | 30.9% | 34,020 |
| 33 | Florida State University | 58.0% | 36.9% | 29,281 |
| 34 | Kennesaw State University | 58.5% | 58.9% | 24,412 |
| 34 | University of Houston | 58.5% | 36.7% | 25,818 |
| 36 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 59.2% | 20.9% | 21,148 |
| 37 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 59.7% | 19.2% | 21,460 |
| 38 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 60.1% | 33.1% | 32,540 |
| 39 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 62.0% | 31.6% | 20,263 |
| 40 | Texas Tech University | 62.6% | 32.1% | 26,627 |
| 41 | California State University-Los Angeles | 63.7% | 16.3% | 20,022 |
| 42 | Michigan State University | 65.7% | 32.5% | 35,447 |
| 43 | Texas A & M University-College Station | 67.2% | 38.3% | 45,091 |
| 44 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 68.1% | 29.7% | 24,382 |
| 45 | San Francisco State University | 68.2% | 14.3% | 21,515 |
| 46 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 70.9% | 33.4% | 25,213 |
| 47 | Texas State University | 71.1% | 34.5% | 28,180 |
| 48 | University of North Texas | 71.8% | 39.4% | 25,486 |
| 49 | California State University-Sacramento | 71.9% | 21.4% | 23,234 |
| 50 | Washington State University | 72.0% | 26.6% | 21,652 |
| 51 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 74.7% | 29.6% | 24,124 |
| 52 | West Virginia University | 76.1% | 31.1% | 20,524 |
| 53 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 76.4% | 39.5% | 23,212 |
| 53 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 76.4% | 36.4% | 20,222 |
| 53 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 76.4% | 33.6% | 21,558 |
| 56 | University of Colorado Boulder | 76.6% | 24.4% | 25,802 |
| 57 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 77.2% | 35.6% | 20,778 |
| 58 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 78.0% | 29.0% | 21,977 |
| 58 | Northern Arizona University | 78.0% | 17.6% | 21,494 |
| 60 | University of Arizona | 78.6% | 21.1% | 29,149 |
| 61 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 78.7% | 28.1% | 32,005 |
| 62 | Auburn University | 80.5% | 30.5% | 20,396 |
| 63 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 81.2% | 32.6% | 20,264 |
| 64 | Arizona State University-Tempe | 82.5% | 40.1% | 38,946 |
| 65 | University of Iowa | 84.1% | 21.8% | 20,868 |
| 66 | Iowa State University | 87.5% | 36.1% | 28,872 |
| 67 | University of Kentucky | 90.8% | 27.2% | 20,833 |
| 68 | Southern New Hampshire University | 92.9% | 19.6% | 21,868 |