Most Selective Big Colleges

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

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