College Admissions Statistics: Top 25 Schools Compared on Acceptance Rates, SAT Scores and Testing

March 29, 2026

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TL;DR: Among the 25 selective private universities in this guide, the lowest latest acceptance rates are at Caltech and Stanford, which each admitted 3.8% of first-year applicants for fall 2025, and Princeton, which admitted 4.1% for the Class of 2030, by our calculation from official figures. Thirteen of the 25 had published Class of 2030 admission counts or a Class of 2030 rate by October 27, 2026; for the rest, the latest official figure is the fall 2025 Common Data Set. For fall 2027 entry, 11 of the 25 require the SAT or ACT and 14 are test optional or recommend scores, and four of the test optional schools have announced that testing will be required again. To turn these numbers into a balanced list, schedule a consultation with Oriel Admissions.

How did we choose these 25 schools?

These are 25 private universities that, in our experience, families ask us about most: the eight Ivy League schools plus 17 other highly selective private universities. We use “top 25” in the sense families use it, for a group of highly selective schools, not as a ranking. The list leaves out liberal arts colleges and public universities, which our guide to the most competitive colleges covers. Every figure comes from the university’s Common Data Set (CDS), its admissions or news pages, or its institutional research office.

What are the acceptance rates and test scores at the top 25 schools?

The table is sorted by each school’s most recent published acceptance rate. The fall 2025 column comes from item C1 of each CDS, which counts first-year applicants and admitted students; the Class of 2030 column appears only where the university itself has published counts or a rate. SAT and ACT ranges are the 25th and 75th percentiles for enrolled first-year students who submitted scores, from CDS item C9 unless noted.

School	Fall 2025 (Class of 2029) acceptance rate	Class of 2030 acceptance rate	SAT middle 50%, enrolled fall 2025	ACT middle 50%	SAT or ACT, fall 2027 entry
Caltech	3.8% (428 of 11,285)	Not published	Composite not reported	Composite not reported	Required
Stanford	3.8% (2,302 of 60,646)	Not published	1520 to 1570 (Class of 2029 submitters)	34 to 36 (Class of 2029 submitters)	Required
Princeton	4.4% (1,868 of 42,303)	4.1% (1,892 of 46,618)	1490 to 1560	34 to 35	Optional; required from fall 2028 entry
Columbia	4.9% (2,946 of 59,611)	4.2% (2,581 of 61,031)	1510 to 1560	34 to 35	Optional; required from fall 2028 entry
Harvard	4.2% (2,003 of 47,893)	Not published	Composite not reported	33 to 35	Required
Yale	4.7% (2,387 of 50,264)	4.2% (2,328 of 54,919)	1480 to 1560	33 to 35	Required
University of Chicago	4.5% (2,039 of 45,533)	Not published	1500 to 1560	34 to 35	Optional
MIT	4.6% (1,334 of 29,281)	Not published	1520 to 1570	34 to 35	Required
Vanderbilt	5.4% (2,593 of 48,196)	4.6% (2,519 of 54,792)	1510 to 1560	34 to 35	Optional; required from fall 2029 entry
Duke	5.2% (2,910 of 55,541)	4.7% (2,930 of 61,935)	1510 to 1570	34 to 35	Optional
Penn	4.9% (3,570 of 72,544)	Not published	1440 to 1550 (Class of 2030 profile)	33 to 35 (Class of 2030 profile)	Required (hardship waiver available)
Brown	Not found; fall 2024: 5.4% (2,638 of 48,904)	5.6% (2,687 of 47,944)	1510 to 1560 (fall 2024)	34 to 35 (fall 2024)	Required
Northeastern	5.6% (5,920 of 105,256)	Not published	1440 to 1510	33 to 34	Optional
Dartmouth	6.0% (1,699 of 28,230)	5.8% (1,687 of 28,863)	1440 to 1550	32 to 35	Required
Johns Hopkins	6.1% (3,072 of 50,259)	Not published	1530 to 1565	35 to 35	Required
Northwestern	7.5% (3,933 of 52,676)	approximately 7% printed	1520 to 1560	34 to 35	Optional
Rice	8.0% (2,948 of 36,791)	Not published	1510 to 1560	34 to 36	Recommended, not required
Emory	10.3% (3,869 of 37,561)	9.0% (3,852 of 42,873), Emory College only	1480 to 1540	33 to 35	Optional
Notre Dame	No readable CDS figure	9% printed (36,104 applicants)	1460 to 1540 (Class of 2030 profile)	33 to 35 (Class of 2030 profile)	Optional; required from fall 2028 entry
NYU	9.1% (10,340 of 114,125)	Not published	1480 to 1550	34 to 35	Optional
Cornell	8.4% (6,077 of 72,523), Cornell University Factbook	9.2% (6,040 of 65,514)	1480 to 1550 (fall 2023)	33 to 35 (fall 2023)	Required
WashU	11.9% (3,968 of 33,283)	12.2% (4,057 of 33,214)	1500 to 1550	33 to 35	Optional
USC	11.2% (9,345 of 83,488)	12.6% (10,006 of 79,331)	1470 to 1540	32 to 35	Optional
Georgetown	13.5% (3,618 of 26,822)	Not published	1405 to 1530	32 to 35	Required
Tulane	14.5% (4,763 of 32,942)	Not published	1430 to 1500	32 to 34	Optional

Sources: each university’s CDS 2025-2026 (Brown CDS 2024-2025), Class of 2030 releases and profiles, and testing pages, listed below. Rates are by our calculation from the counts shown; Northwestern and Notre Dame print rounded Class of 2030 rates without admit counts, so their places in the order are approximate. Cornell fall 2025 counts are from its University Factbook because its CDS 2025-2026 values could not be read. Emory’s Class of 2030 figure covers Emory College only; Oxford College admitted 10.2% (2,773 of 27,113).

Some schools publish more than one set of numbers. Brown reports 2,564 admits from 47,937 applications in its March 2026 decision-day release and 2,687 from 47,944 on its admission facts page dated September 2026; the table uses the later page. Penn has posted its Class of 2030 applications (61,264) on its incoming class profile but not its admit count, so the table shows its fall 2025 CDS figure. We could not find a fall 2025 CDS for Brown on its site. Harvard had not published Class of 2030 figures as of October 27, 2026, and says it shares annual data “in the October/November timeframe”.

Which top 25 schools require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027 entry?

Required: Brown, Caltech, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Penn, Stanford and Yale. Penn accepts a hardship waiver, Dartmouth accepts AP, IB or A-Level results from students at schools outside the United States, and Harvard accepts other exams in exceptional cases.
Optional now, required later: Columbia, Notre Dame and Princeton will require scores from fall 2028 entry, and Vanderbilt from fall 2029 entry.
Optional: Duke, Emory, NYU, Northeastern, Northwestern, Tulane, UChicago, USC and WashU. Rice recommends but does not require scores.

In our view, a student applying for fall 2027 should plan to test if any school on the list requires scores, because a test optional school still considers a submitted score.

Did acceptance rates fall for the Class of 2030?

At most of the schools with counts for both years, yes. By our calculation, the rate fell at Yale (4.7% to 4.2%), Princeton (4.4% to 4.1%), Columbia (4.9% to 4.2%), Dartmouth (6.0% to 5.8%), Vanderbilt (5.4% to 4.6%) and Duke (4.8% to 4.7%), and rose at Cornell (8.4% to 9.2%) and USC (11.2% to 12.6%). For Duke we compare its own March announcements for both classes, 2,818 of 58,698 applicants for the Class of 2029 (Duke Today, March 2025) and 2,930 of 61,935 for the Class of 2030, because its CDS counts applicants differently. For the others, the Class of 2030 figures come from announcements and profiles and the Class of 2029 figures from the CDS (Cornell: Factbook for both), so small changes should be read with care. We leave WashU out of the comparison because its Class of 2030 applicant count, 33,214, is identical to the figure in its fall 2022 CDS.

What do the SAT and ACT ranges in the table mean?

The ranges describe enrolled students who chose to submit scores, not every applicant or every admitted student. At test optional schools that can be a minority of the class: Cornell’s CDS for fall 2023, a test optional year, shows 42% of enrolled first-years submitting the SAT (Cornell CDS 2023-2024). A score below the 25th percentile does not rule a student out, and a score above the 75th does not assure admission. Our Academic Index calculator and our guide to what counts as a good SAT score explain how to read a score against these ranges.

How should families use these statistics?

The view of Oriel Admissions is that acceptance rates and score ranges describe a pool, not a single applicant’s chances. They are most useful for spotting reach schools, comparing testing rules and noticing where early rounds matter; our guide to Early Decision acceptance rates covers the early round, and the Ivy League acceptance rates table tracks each Ivy release. Each of these 25 schools admitted fewer than 15% of applicants in its latest published year, so a balanced list needs schools with a wider range of rates.

Frequently Asked Questions About Admissions Statistics at the Top 25 Schools

Which top 25 school has the lowest acceptance rate?

Caltech and Stanford each admitted 3.8% of first-year applicants for fall 2025, by our calculation from their Common Data Sets. Among schools that have published Class of 2030 figures, Princeton has the lowest rate at 4.1%. Harvard admitted 4.2% for the Class of 2029 and had not published Class of 2030 figures as of October 27, 2026.

What SAT scores do students at the top 25 schools have?

Among the 23 schools that report a composite SAT range, the 25th percentile for enrolled first-year students who submitted scores ranges from 1405 at Georgetown to 1530 at Johns Hopkins, and the 75th percentile from 1500 at Tulane to 1570 at MIT, Stanford and Duke. These ranges come mostly from item C9 of each Common Data Set.

Which top 25 schools require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027 entry?

Brown, Caltech, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Penn, Stanford and Yale require the SAT or ACT. Columbia, Notre Dame, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Duke, Emory, NYU, Northeastern, Northwestern, Tulane, UChicago, USC and WashU are test optional, and Rice recommends scores.

Did Ivy League acceptance rates fall for the Class of 2030?

At four of the five Ivies with counts for both years, yes: Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth admitted a smaller share than for the Class of 2029, by our calculation. Cornell admitted a larger share, 9.2% against 8.4%. Harvard and Penn had not published Class of 2030 admit counts, and we could not find a fall 2025 Common Data Set for Brown.

What is a Common Data Set?

It is a standard report that many colleges publish each year using the same questions. Item C1 gives first-year applicants, admitted students and enrolled students, and item C9 gives test score ranges for enrolled students. A Common Data Set labeled 2025-2026 describes students who entered in fall 2025.

Why do some schools show the Class of 2029 and others the Class of 2030?

Colleges release figures at different times and in different forms. Some announce Class of 2030 admits in the spring, while others publish only their Common Data Set, which reports the class that entered a year earlier. We show the most recent official figure for each school and label its year.

Are these 25 schools ranked?

No. In our experience they are the private universities families ask us about most, and the table sorts them by their latest published acceptance rate. The order says nothing about academic quality or fit, and our separate guide to the most competitive colleges adds liberal arts colleges and public universities.

How does Oriel Admissions suggest using admissions statistics?

Oriel Admissions suggests using acceptance rates and score ranges to understand the applicant pool, compare testing rules and decide where an early application makes sense, not to predict one student result. A balanced list includes schools with a wider range of rates than the 25 in this guide.

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.