Colleges Where Talent and Ability Are Very Important
75 colleges in the CollegeCalcAI database rate talent and ability as very important in the "Selection of Students" section (C7) of their own Common Data Set. 3 are public and 72 are private; the median school on the list admits 21%, and the most selective are Stanford University (4%), Yale University (4%), and University of Chicago (4%). A portfolio, audition, research record or athletic distinction is a top factor at these schools, not a tiebreaker. The list is drawn only from schools with a published factor record; schools that do not report one are not assumed either way.
- Stanford University4%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1570
- Yale University4%acceptanceMost selectiveCT · SAT 1570
- University of Chicago4%acceptanceMost selectiveIL · SAT 1570
- Brown University5%acceptanceMost selectiveRI · SAT 1560
- Princeton University5%acceptanceMost selectiveNJ · SAT 1570
- University of Pennsylvania5%acceptanceMost selectivePA · SAT 1560
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology5%acceptanceMost selectiveMA · SAT 1570
- Duke University6%acceptanceMost selectiveNC · SAT 1570
- Vanderbilt University6%acceptanceMost selectiveTN · SAT 1560
- Bowdoin College7%acceptanceMost selectiveME · SAT 1520
- Colby College7%acceptanceMost selectiveME · SAT 1500
- Pomona College7%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1540
- Swarthmore College7%acceptanceMost selectivePA · SAT 1530
- Northwestern University8%acceptanceMost selectiveIL · SAT 1560
- Williams College8%acceptanceMost selectiveMA · SAT 1530
- Amherst College9%acceptanceMost selectiveMA · SAT 1540
- University of Southern California10%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1530
- Claremont McKenna College10%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1520
- University of California, Berkeley11%acceptanceHighly selectiveCA · SAT 1530
- University of Notre Dame11%acceptanceHighly selectiveIN · SAT 1550
- Emory University11%acceptanceHighly selectiveGA · SAT 1520
- Middlebury College11%acceptanceHighly selectiveVT · SAT 1490
- Tufts University11%acceptanceHighly selectiveMA · SAT 1530
- Haverford College12%acceptanceHighly selectivePA · SAT 1500
- Washington University in St. Louis12%acceptanceHighly selectiveMO · SAT 1550
- Davidson College13%acceptanceHighly selectiveNC · SAT 1470
- Colgate University14%acceptanceHighly selectiveNY · SAT 1460
- Tulane University14%acceptanceHighly selectiveLA · SAT 1500
- Hamilton College14%acceptanceHighly selectiveNY · SAT 1500
- Washington and Lee University14%acceptanceHighly selectiveVA · SAT 1470
- Wellesley College14%acceptanceHighly selectiveMA · SAT 1500
- Grinnell College15%acceptanceHighly selectiveIA · SAT 1470
- Boston College16%acceptanceHighly selectiveMA · SAT 1520
- Wesleyan University16%acceptanceHighly selectiveCT · SAT 1490
- Vassar College19%acceptanceHighly selectiveNY · SAT 1490
- Carleton College20%acceptanceHighly selectiveMN · SAT 1510
- Skidmore College21%acceptanceHighly selectiveNY · SAT 1390
- Smith College21%acceptanceHighly selectiveMA · SAT 1440
- Wake Forest University22%acceptanceHighly selectiveNC · SAT 1490
- Bryn Mawr College29%acceptanceSelectivePA · SAT 1430
- Oberlin College34%acceptanceSelectiveOH · SAT 1430
- Whitman College38%acceptanceSelectiveWA · SAT 1400
- Furman University43%acceptanceSelectiveSC · SAT 1360
- Millsaps College43%acceptanceSelectiveMS · SAT 1230
- Texas Christian University44%acceptanceSelectiveTX · SAT 1370
- Occidental College44%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1420
- Santa Clara University48%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1430
- St. Olaf College48%acceptanceSelectiveMN · SAT 1380
- Emerson College51%acceptanceModerately selectiveMA · SAT 1230
- St. Lawrence University54%acceptanceModerately selectiveNY · SAT 1230
- Allegheny College55%acceptanceModerately selectivePA · SAT 1230
- Friends University55%acceptanceModerately selectiveKS · SAT 1120
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute60%acceptanceModerately selectiveMA · SAT 1440
- SUNY New Paltz62%acceptanceModerately selectiveNY · SAT 1180
- Pepperdine University63%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1400
- Lawrence University64%acceptanceModerately selectiveWI · SAT 1330
- Rochester Institute of Technology67%acceptanceModerately selectiveNY · SAT 1380
- Bushnell University67%acceptanceModerately selectiveOR · SAT 1120
- Ithaca College69%acceptanceModerately selectiveNY · SAT 1280
- Capital University70%acceptanceModerately selectiveOH · SAT 1230
- Knox College71%acceptanceModerately selectiveIL · SAT 1280
- Springfield College72%acceptanceModerately selectiveMA · SAT 1210
- Kalamazoo College75%acceptanceModerately selectiveMI · SAT 1230
- DePaul University76%acceptanceAccessibleIL · SAT 1280
- Baldwin Wallace University76%acceptanceAccessibleOH · SAT 1230
- Westmont College77%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1150
- McDaniel College78%acceptanceAccessibleMD · SAT 1200
- SUNY Fredonia78%acceptanceAccessibleNY · SAT 1180
- Arcadia University80%acceptanceAccessiblePA · SAT 1230
- Savannah College of Art and Design83%acceptanceAccessibleGA · SAT 1230
- Saint Michael's College85%acceptanceAccessibleVT · SAT 1150
- Curry College88%acceptanceAccessibleMA · SAT 1080
- University of Portland89%acceptanceAccessibleOR · SAT 1340
- Whitworth University90%acceptanceAccessibleWA · SAT 1280
- Liberty University99%acceptanceAccessibleVA · SAT 1200
Your chances at these colleges
Estimated chance of admission for three typical students, from the same model as the calculator. Unweighted GPA; 2, 4 and 7 AP courses respectively; Regular Decision; no legacy, athletic or first-generation hook.
Which of the Colleges Where Talent and Ability Are Very Important can I get into with a 3.7 GPA and a 1300 SAT?
By CollegeCalcAI's model, a student with a 3.7 unweighted GPA and a 1300 SAT has a Likely or Safety estimate (45% or higher) at 35 of the 75 colleges here, including Oberlin College, Whitman College and Furman University. 4 more are Target (25 to 44%), such as Skidmore College and Smith College. The other 36 are Reach. Estimates assume Regular Decision and no hook; courses, activities and essays move them.
Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities or compare your own list with the free admissions API.
Cite or embed this list
Free to quote with attribution. The stat card links back to this list.
CollegeCalcAI. "Colleges Where Talent and Ability Are Very Important." 2026. https://collegecalcai.com/data/colleges-where-talent-is-very-important
Free to cite and reuse with attribution and a link.
<a href="https://collegecalcai.com/data/colleges-where-talent-is-very-important?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=statcard" style="display:inline-block;padding:16px 20px;border:1px solid #E5E9F0;border-radius:14px;text-decoration:none;font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;background:#fff"><span style="display:block;font-size:30px;font-weight:800;color:#0F766E;line-height:1">21%</span><span style="display:block;margin-top:6px;font-size:13px;color:#475569">median acceptance rate, colleges where talent and ability are very important (75 schools)</span><span style="display:block;margin-top:8px;font-size:11px;color:#94A3B8">Source: CollegeCalcAI</span></a>
Keep exploring
More ways to cut the data.
Acceptance rates and admitted test ranges reflect publicly reported data (U.S. Department of Education / NCES IPEDS / Common Data Sets) and are rounded. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.