How did we choose these 15 computer science schools?
These are 15 universities and colleges that, in the view of Oriel Admissions, have some of the strongest undergraduate computer science programs in the United States, and in our experience they are the computer science schools families ask us about most. This guide does not rank them. The acceptance rate table is sorted by each school’s most recent published overall rate, and every figure in it comes from the university’s own pages, its Common Data Set (CDS) or its institutional research office.
What are the acceptance rates at the top computer science schools?
The overall rate is the figure most schools publish. Where a university publishes a computer science or computing figure, it appears in the third column.
| School | Latest overall acceptance rate | Official computer science figure | SAT or ACT, fall 2027 entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caltech | 3.8%, fall 2025 (428 of 11,285) | None: admits to the Institute | Required |
| Stanford | 3.8%, fall 2025 (2,302 of 60,646) | None: admits to the university | Required |
| Princeton | 4.1%, Class of 2030 (1,892 of 46,618) | None: admits to the university | Optional; required again for fall 2028 entry |
| MIT | 4.6%, fall 2025 (1,334 of 29,281) | None: admits to the Institute | Required |
| Cornell | 9.2%, fall 2026 (6,040 of 65,514) | Not published on the pages we reviewed | Required |
| UC Berkeley | 10.5%, fall 2026 (13,992 of 133,157; an enrollment estimate as of August 2026, printed as 11%) | Not published on the pages we reviewed | Not required |
| Carnegie Mellon | 11.1%, fall 2025 (3,859 of 34,867) | Not published on the pages we reviewed | Required for the Griffin School of Computer Science |
| Harvey Mudd | 12%, students entering 2025 | None: admits to the college | Optional; required again “for the Fall 2028 application cycle” |
| Georgia Tech | 13.3%, fall 2025 (8,921 of 66,881) | 9.7% College of Computing, fall 2025 (1,310 of 13,556) | Required |
| UT Austin | 22.2%, fall 2025 (20,154 of 90,690) | Not published on the pages we reviewed | Required (CLT also accepted) |
| Illinois | 38.1%, fall 2026 (32,322 of 84,833) | Not published for computer science; Grainger College of Engineering 23.3% of first-choice applicants, fall 2026 | Optional |
| Purdue | 53.3%, 2026 class profile | 63.4% Computer Science, 2026 class profile, printed without counts | Expected (SAT, ACT or CLT) |
| University of Washington | No single rate published (three-year averages: 47% Washington residents, 39% nonresidents) | 14.7% Allen School Direct to Major, computer science and computer engineering, 2026 (773 of 5,249) | Not required for most applicants |
| University of Maryland | Not published on the pages we reviewed | Not published on the pages we reviewed | Optional through the fall 2027 cycle |
| Virginia Tech | Not published on the pages we reviewed (more than 58,000 applications for fall 2026) | Not published on the pages we reviewed | Optional through fall 2028 entry |
The University of Washington publishes the most detail. For 2026, the Allen School offered Direct to Major admission to 493 of 1,205 Washington residents, 243 of 2,995 domestic nonresidents and 37 of 1,049 international applicants who listed computer science or computer engineering first (printed rates 41%, 8% and 4%), and it says it “is able to admit around 630 new undergraduate students across our three pathways each year” (Allen School admissions); offers are not the same as enrolled students. Georgia Tech’s Fact Book shows 9.7% for the College of Computing against 12.2% for the Institute (8,028 of 65,968) in the same fall 2025 table; Georgia Tech does not admit to a college, and the college also houses majors other than computer science. Purdue prints a 63.4% admit rate for computer science beside its 53.3% overall rate on its 2026 class profile, with no counts and no explanation of the difference.
How do top colleges admit students to computer science?
In our view, the route into the major matters as much as the acceptance rate, because it decides when a student’s place in computer science is settled and what happens if it is not. The 15 schools fall into three groups.
- Admitted to the whole institution, major chosen later. MIT says students “select a major at the end of the first year,” and that the intended major has no impact on admission decisions (MIT admissions FAQ). Stanford says students can declare a major “anytime during your first year or sophomore year” (Stanford majors). Caltech students declare a major at the end of the first year (Caltech majors). Princeton says “Students can pursue computer science in either the B.S.E. or A.B. degree programs” (Princeton degrees), and at Harvey Mudd “First-year students may not declare a major in their first two semesters of enrollment” (Harvey Mudd registrar). Georgia Tech also admits to the Institute, but “consideration of your major is an important part of our application review process” (Georgia Tech major selection).
- Admitted to a college, computer science chosen later. At Cornell, students apply to Engineering or Arts and Sciences, and “Students in either college may major in computer science” (Cornell Computer Science). Virginia Tech says “All students wishing to study this major should apply to General Engineering,” and lists the major as “Restricted by Available Space” (Virginia Tech Computer Science).
- Admitted directly to computer science. Carnegie Mellon “admits into SCS and not directly to departments within SCS,” and transfer into the school “has strict requirements and is not guaranteed” (Griffin School of Computer Science admissions). At UC Berkeley, “First-years are admitted directly into the CS major” (Berkeley CS B.A.); Berkeley’s comparison chart places the CS B.A. in the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society and shows EECS students “Admitted directly to the major” in the College of Engineering (Berkeley EECS and CS comparison chart). Illinois says its computer science majors in Grainger Engineering are “direct admit only and closed” “to on-campus transfer” (Siebel School). For Direct to Major admission, the University of Washington considers only applicants who list an Allen School major first: “If you list an Allen School major as a second-choice, you will not be considered for DTM admission into the Allen School” (Allen School Direct to Major). UT Austin applicants choose “Computer Science Entry-level” (UT Austin Computer Science), Purdue says it “admits to individual majors” (Purdue Computer Science), and Maryland treats computer science as a Limited Enrollment Program with “no appeal process to reevaluate direct placement into the Computer Science major” (Maryland Computer Science).
In our view, the direct-admit schools reward applicants who are certain about computer science, because the later routes are narrow. The University of Washington tells applicants who are not offered Direct to Major admission that, if they are sure about computer science, they “should strongly consider attending another university” (Allen School), and Maryland says later admission to the major is selective and “space is limited and not all applicants are guaranteed admission” (Maryland CS LEP FAQ).
Which computer science application deadlines remain for fall 2027 entry?
Two early deadlines at these schools passed on October 15, 2026, along with the arts portfolio version of Stanford Restrictive Early Action. Most of the rest fall on November 1 or 2.
| School | Early plan and deadline | Regular deadline |
|---|---|---|
| MIT | Early Action, November 1 (not binding, not restrictive) | January 4 |
| Caltech | Restrictive Early Action, November 1 | January 4 |
| Stanford | Restrictive Early Action, November 1 (arts portfolio version October 15, passed) | January 5 |
| Princeton | Single-Choice Early Action, November 1 | January 1 |
| Cornell | Early Decision (binding), November 1 | January 2 |
| Purdue | Early Action, November 1 (also the computer science priority deadline) | January 15 |
| Illinois | Early Action, November 1 | January 5 |
| Maryland | Early Action, November 1 | January 20 |
| Carnegie Mellon | Early Decision (binding), November 2 | January 4 |
| Georgia Tech | Early Action 2 (non-Georgia), November 2; Early Action 1 (Georgia), October 15, passed | January 6 |
| Harvey Mudd | Early Decision I, November 15; Early Decision II, January 5 | January 5 |
| Virginia Tech | Early Action, November 15 | January 15 |
| University of Washington | None | November 15 |
| UC Berkeley | None; filing period October 1 to November 30 | November 30 |
| UT Austin | Early Action, October 15, passed | December 1 |
Is computer science enrollment falling?
National enrollment figures and a survey of computing departments both show a decline in 2025-26. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that “Computer and Information Sciences enrollment declined sharply compared to the spring of 2025, down 8.4 percent at four-year institutions” (NSC Research Center, spring 2026). Among the computing departments that answered the Computing Research Association’s 2025 Taulbee Survey, new bachelor’s enrollments in computer science fell 12.9% in its longitudinal cohort (CRA Taulbee Survey 2025). These figures measure enrollment, not applications or admission rates.
Two schools in this guide publish application counts that fell as well. First-choice computer science and computer engineering applications to the University of Washington fell from 8,540 in 2023 to 5,249 in 2026, while its offer rate rose from 7.9% to 14.7%, by our calculation from the Allen School’s tables. Applications to Georgia Tech’s College of Computing fell from 14,926 for fall 2024 to 13,556 for fall 2025, a drop of 9.2% by our calculation, while Institute applications rose. In our view, two schools are not a trend, and both still admitted fewer than 15% of computing applicants in their latest published year.
Which of these schools offer a degree in artificial intelligence?
Four of the 15 list an undergraduate major in artificial intelligence. Carnegie Mellon introduced its Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence in fall 2018 and calls it “the nation’s first bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence” (Carnegie Mellon BS in AI); applicants must first be admitted to the Griffin School of Computer Science, the new name the school took after a gift announced on September 30, 2026 (Carnegie Mellon News). MIT offers 6-4, Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making (MIT EECS); Purdue lists Artificial Intelligence among its computer science majors (Purdue Computer Science); and Maryland lists an “Artificial Intelligence: Computational Structures for AI Systems Major” (Maryland catalog). Stanford offers artificial intelligence as a track within its computer science B.S. (Stanford Bulletin). Our guides to the best colleges for artificial intelligence and to an AI major versus computer science compare the options.
How should you build a computer science school list?
The view of Oriel Admissions is that a computer science list should mix admission routes as well as selectivity. A student set on computer science can include direct-admit schools, where a place in the major is settled at admission, alongside institution-wide schools such as MIT, Stanford and Princeton, where the choice comes later. Testing also needs planning: seven of these schools or programs require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027 entry, Purdue expects scores, and the University of California says applicants for fall 2027 “will not be required to submit SAT or ACT scores” (University of California). Our guides to the best colleges for engineering, the best colleges for math and USACO cover related choices.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Colleges for Computer Science
On the official pages we reviewed, three of the 15 in this guide publish a figure for computer science or a computing college. The University of Washington Allen School offered Direct to Major admission to 14.7% of first-choice computer science and computer engineering applicants for 2026, Georgia Tech accepted 9.7% of applicants grouped under its College of Computing for fall 2025, and Purdue prints a 63.4% admit rate for computer science on its 2026 class profile, without counts.
Published figures point both ways. The Georgia Tech Fact Book shows 9.7% for the College of Computing against 12.2% for the Institute for fall 2025, while Purdue prints 63.4% for computer science against 53.3% overall on its 2026 class profile. Applicant pools differ, so a lower or higher rate does not by itself show how hard the major is to enter.
No. MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Princeton and Harvey Mudd admit students to the whole institution, and students choose computer science after enrolling. MIT says the intended major has no impact on admission decisions. These schools publish no computer science rate, so the overall rate is the only official figure.
MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Cornell, Georgia Tech and UT Austin require the SAT or ACT, and Carnegie Mellon requires an SAT or ACT score for its Griffin School of Computer Science. Purdue expects scores. Princeton, Harvey Mudd, Illinois, Maryland and Virginia Tech are test optional, the University of Washington does not require scores for most applicants, and UC Berkeley does not require them.
It depends on the school. Illinois says its computer science majors in Grainger Engineering are closed to on-campus transfer, Carnegie Mellon says transfer into its School of Computer Science is not guaranteed, the University of Washington says later admission is competitive, and Maryland says it is selective and space is limited. UC Berkeley considers students for its CS B.A. through a comprehensive review.
National and survey figures show a decline. Computer and information sciences enrollment fell 8.4% at four-year institutions in spring 2026 compared with spring 2025, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, and new enrollments in computer science bachelor degree programs fell 12.9% among departments in the Computing Research Association 2025 Taulbee Survey cohort.
As of late October 2026, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Princeton, Cornell, Purdue, Illinois and Maryland have early deadlines on November 1, Carnegie Mellon and Georgia Tech (non-Georgia applicants) on November 2, and Harvey Mudd and Virginia Tech on November 15. Three deadlines passed on October 15: UT Austin Early Action, Georgia Tech Early Action for Georgia residents and the arts portfolio version of Stanford Restrictive Early Action.
Oriel Admissions suggests mixing admission routes as well as selectivity: direct-admit schools for students certain about computer science, and institution-wide schools where the major is chosen later. Each school also differs on testing and early plans, so the deadline and testing tables in this guide are a starting point for a balanced list.
Sources: Allen School Direct to Major statistics, Allen School admissions, Georgia Tech Fact Book 2025, Georgia Tech CDS 2025-2026, Purdue class profile, Purdue application guide, MIT admissions statistics, MIT admissions FAQ, majors, MIT testing, Stanford CDS 2025-2026, Stanford testing policy, Caltech CDS 2025-2026, Caltech standardized tests, Princeton profile, Princeton application checklist, Cornell University Factbook, Cornell testing policy, UC Berkeley student profile, Berkeley EECS and CS comparison chart, University of California, Academic Senate review of admissions, Carnegie Mellon CDS 2025-2026, Griffin School of Computer Science admissions, Carnegie Mellon testing policy, Georgia Tech standardized tests, Illinois admit rates, Illinois 10th Day Report, fall 2026, Illinois admission review policy, UT Austin CDS 2025-2026, UT Austin first-year application, Maryland Limited Enrollment Programs, Virginia Tech first-year requirements, Harvey Mudd Facts and Figures, University of Washington, how to apply, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, spring 2026, Computing Research Association, Taulbee Survey 2025. All read October 26 and 27, 2026.
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy, with offices in Princeton, New Jersey and New York. Our team pairs deep admissions expertise with a distinctive 360 approach spanning academic planning, extracurricular strategy, essays and application execution. To discuss your strategy, schedule a consultation.
