Hardest Public Universities to Get Into
Public universities are usually more accessible than top private schools, but the service academies and the most selective state flagships are the exception. These are the 50 hardest public universities in the country, ranked by acceptance rate.
Schools
50
Median acceptance
40%
Most selective
U.S. Naval Academy
9% acceptance
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50 schools
- U.S. Naval Academy9%acceptanceMost selectiveMD · SAT 1400
- UCLA9%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1510
- University of California, Berkeley11%acceptanceHighly selectiveCA · SAT 1530
- U.S. Military Academy12%acceptanceHighly selectiveNY · SAT 1370
- Georgia Tech14%acceptanceHighly selectiveGA · SAT 1530
- U.S. Air Force Academy14%acceptanceHighly selectiveCO · SAT 1410
- University of North Carolina15%acceptanceHighly selectiveNC · SAT 1470
- University of Michigan16%acceptanceHighly selectiveMI · SAT 1520
- University of Virginia17%acceptanceHighly selectiveVA · SAT 1510
- Florida A&M University21%acceptanceHighly selectiveFL · SAT 1130
- Florida State University24%acceptanceHighly selectiveFL · SAT 1380
- University of Florida24%acceptanceHighly selectiveFL · SAT 1440
- UC San Diego27%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1490
- University of Texas at Austin27%acceptanceSelectiveTX · SAT 1460
- UC Irvine29%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1420
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo31%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1420
- UC Santa Barbara33%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1430
- William & Mary34%acceptanceSelectiveVA · SAT 1480
- Southern University35%acceptanceSelectiveLA · SAT 1020
- San Diego State University36%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1340
- Dickinson State University37%acceptanceSelectiveND · SAT 1100
- Clemson University38%acceptanceSelectiveSC · SAT 1400
- University of Georgia38%acceptanceSelectiveGA · SAT 1430
- Binghamton University39%acceptanceSelectiveNY · SAT 1430
- University of Washington39%acceptanceSelectiveWA · SAT 1450
- University of Central Florida40%acceptanceSelectiveFL · SAT 1350
- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff41%acceptanceSelectiveAR · SAT 1010
- NC State University42%acceptanceSelectiveNC · SAT 1380
- UC Davis42%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1380
- University of Illinois42%acceptanceSelectiveIL · SAT 1480
- University of Tennessee42%acceptanceSelectiveTN · SAT 1330
- Chicago State University43%acceptanceSelectiveIL · SAT 980
- University of South Florida43%acceptanceSelectiveFL · SAT 1320
- Texas A&M International44%acceptanceSelectiveTX · SAT 1120
- Alcorn State University45%acceptanceSelectiveMS · SAT 1020
- Grambling State University45%acceptanceSelectiveLA · SAT 1020
- University of Maryland45%acceptanceSelectiveMD · SAT 1470
- University of Wisconsin45%acceptanceSelectiveWI · SAT 1440
- Auburn University46%acceptanceSelectiveAL · SAT 1340
- Cal State Long Beach46%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1280
- Coppin State University46%acceptanceSelectiveMD · SAT 1020
- Delaware State University47%acceptanceSelectiveDE · SAT 1060
- Baruch College48%acceptanceSelectiveNY · SAT 1180
- Governors State University48%acceptanceSelectiveIL · SAT 1100
- Stony Brook University49%acceptanceSelectiveNY · SAT 1400
- North Carolina A&T State University50%acceptanceSelectiveNC · SAT 1120
- Purdue University50%acceptanceSelectiveIN · SAT 1430
- Harris-Stowe State University50%acceptanceSelectiveMO · SAT 1000
- University of Connecticut52%acceptanceModerately selectiveCT · SAT 1370
- University of North Florida53%acceptanceModerately selectiveFL · SAT 1250
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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.