The admissions process, while time-consuming and complex, is also fun and fascinating. Below, we’ve included some important facts and figures that will help you understand the trends in admissions over the past 5-10 years.
In 2022, college acceptance rates dropped as low as 3.19% for the first time ever. Some of the most selective schools were Harvard University (3.19%) in Cambridge, MA, Yale University (4.4%) in New Haven, CT, and Columbia University (3.73%) in New York, NY.
| School | 2022 | 2020 | 2015 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst College | 7% | 11.8% | 13.7% | 18% |
| Boston College | 16.4% | 23.8% | 28% | 38% |
| Brown University | 5% | 6.8% | 8.5% | 16% |
| Columbia University | 3.73% | 6.1% | 6.1% | 12% |
| Cornell University | TBA | 10.7% | 14.8% | 31% |
| Dartmouth College | 6.2% | 8.8% | 10.3% | 18% |
| Duke University | 6.2% | 7.7% | 10% | 23% |
| George Washington University | TBA | 38.7% | 45.5% | 39% |
| Georgetown University | 12.1% | 15.5% | 16.4% | 23% |
| Harvard University | 3.19% | 4.9% | 5.3% | 11% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 3.96% | 7.2% | 8% | 16% |
| Middlebury College | 11.5% | 24.3% | 17% | 23% |
| New York University | 12.2% | 15.3% | 30.7% | 32% |
| Northwestern University | 7% | 9% | 13% | 33% |
| Pomona College | TBA | 7.2% | 9.7% | 19% |
| Princeton University | TBA | 5.5% | 6.9% | 10% |
| Stanford University | TBA | 5.2% | 5.05% | 13% |
| Swarthmore College | 6.95% | 8.8% | 12.1% | 25% |
| University of California – Berkeley | TBA | 17.5% | 17% | 27% |
| University of Michigan | TBA | 26.1% | 26% | 63% |
| University of Notre Dame | 12.87% | 16.5% | 20% | 29% |
| University of Pennsylvania | TBA | 8% | 9.9% | 29% |
| University of Southern California | 11.8% | 15.8% | 17.5% | 27% |
| University of Virginia | 18.7% | 20.5% | 28.5% | 39% |
| Vanderbilt University | 6.1% | 11.6% | 11% | 40% |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 10% | 16% | 17.13% | 20% |
| Wesleyan University | 13.9% | 20% | 22% | 28% |
| Williams College | 8.5% | 15% | 16.8% | 21% |
| Yale University | 4.4% | 6.4% | 6.5% | 11% |
| School | 2022 | 2020 | 2015 | 2005 |