Colleges With a 10% to 20% Acceptance Rate

36 colleges in the CollegeCalcAI database have a 10 to 20 percent acceptance rate, spread across 20 states: 7 public and 29 private. The median admitted-student SAT (75th percentile) in this band is 1495. Ranked from most to least selective, the list starts with University of Southern California, Claremont McKenna College, and Boston University. At this level of selectivity, top grades and scores are the entry ticket rather than the deciding factor. Every school here is a reach for everyone, and a balanced list matters more than anywhere else.

Schools

Median acceptance

14%

Most selective

University of Southern California

10% acceptance

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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 With a 10% to 20% Acceptance Rate 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 no Likely or Safety estimate among the 36 colleges here. 1 more is a Target (25 to 44%), such as Berea College. The other 35 are Reach. Estimates assume Regular Decision and no hook; courses, activities and essays move them.

Estimated admission chance for three student profiles at each college: 3.3 GPA, 1150 SAT; 3.7 GPA, 1300 SAT; 4.0 GPA, 1500 SAT
College	3.3 GPA1150 SAT	3.7 GPA1300 SAT	4.0 GPA1500 SAT
University of Southern Californiaadmits 10%	8%Reach	12%Reach	20%Reach
Claremont McKenna Collegeadmits 10%	9%Reach	12%Reach	20%Reach
Boston Universityadmits 11%	9%Reach	13%Reach	23%Reach
University of California, Berkeleyadmits 11%	9%Reach	13%Reach	21%Reach
University of Notre Dameadmits 11%	9%Reach	12%Reach	21%Reach
Emory Universityadmits 11%	9%Reach	13%Reach	22%Reach
Middlebury Collegeadmits 11%	9%Reach	13%Reach	23%Reach
Tufts Universityadmits 11%	9%Reach	13%Reach	22%Reach
U.S. Military Academyadmits 12%	10%Reach	17%Reach	28%Target
Carnegie Mellon Universityadmits 12%	9%Reach	13%Reach	23%Reach
Haverford Collegeadmits 12%	10%Reach	14%Reach	24%Reach
Washington University in St. Louisadmits 12%	10%Reach	13%Reach	23%Reach
College of the Ozarksadmits 12%	15%Reach	22%Reach	28%Target
Davidson Collegeadmits 13%	10%Reach	16%Reach	27%Target
Georgetown Universityadmits 13%	10%Reach	15%Reach	26%Target
Bates Collegeadmits 13%	10%Reach	16%Reach	27%Target
Colgate Universityadmits 14%	11%Reach	17%Reach	30%Target
Georgia Techadmits 14%	10%Reach	15%Reach	28%Target
Tulane Universityadmits 14%	11%Reach	16%Reach	28%Target
U.S. Air Force Academyadmits 14%	10%Reach	19%Reach	32%Target
Hamilton Collegeadmits 14%	11%Reach	16%Reach	28%Target
Washington and Lee Universityadmits 14%	11%Reach	17%Reach	29%Target
Wellesley Collegeadmits 14%	11%Reach	16%Reach	28%Target
University of North Carolinaadmits 15%	11%Reach	18%Reach	32%Target
Grinnell Collegeadmits 15%	11%Reach	18%Reach	32%Target

Show all 36 colleges

Estimated admission chance for three student profiles at each college: 3.3 GPA, 1150 SAT; 3.7 GPA, 1300 SAT; 4.0 GPA, 1500 SAT (continued)
Boston Collegeadmits 16%	12%Reach	17%Reach	32%Target
University of Michiganadmits 16%	11%Reach	17%Reach	33%Target
Wesleyan Universityadmits 16%	12%Reach	19%Reach	32%Target
University of Virginiaadmits 17%	12%Reach	19%Reach	34%Target
Babson Collegeadmits 17%	12%Reach	22%Reach	39%Target
Denison Universityadmits 17%	12%Reach	23%Reach	39%Target
College of the Holy Crossadmits 18%	13%Reach	24%Reach	42%Target
Colorado Collegeadmits 18%	13%Reach	22%Reach	40%Target
University of Miamiadmits 19%	13%Reach	22%Reach	40%Target
Berea Collegeadmits 19%	18%Reach	34%Target	45%Likely
Vassar Collegeadmits 19%	13%Reach	22%Reach	39%Target

Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities or compare your own list with the free admissions API.

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CollegeCalcAI. "Colleges With a 10% to 20% Acceptance Rate." 2026. https://collegecalcai.com/data/colleges-with-10-to-20-percent-acceptance-rate

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14%median acceptance rate, colleges with a 10% to 20% acceptance rate (36 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI

<a href="https://collegecalcai.com/data/colleges-with-10-to-20-percent-acceptance-rate?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">14%median acceptance rate, colleges with a 10% to 20% acceptance rate (36 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI</a>

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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.