Top 100 Hardest Colleges to Get Into

These are the 100 most selective colleges in the CollegeCalcAI database, ranked by undergraduate acceptance rate. Every school links to its full admissions profile: what it weighs, where its admitted SAT range sits, and how it compares in its state.

Schools

100

Median acceptance

15%

Most selective

California Institute of Technology

3% 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 Top 100 Hardest Colleges 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 13 of the 100 colleges here, including Trinity University (TX), Mississippi College and Fairfield University. 24 more are Target (25 to 44%), such as Berea College and Florida A&M University. The other 63 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
California Institute of Technologyadmits 3%	4%Reach	4%Reach	7%Reach
Columbia Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Harvard Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Stanford Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Yale Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
University of Chicagoadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Brown Universityadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
Dartmouth Collegeadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
Northeastern Universityadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	11%Reach
Princeton Universityadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
University of Pennsylvaniaadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
Massachusetts Institute of Technologyadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
Duke Universityadmits 6%	6%Reach	8%Reach	12%Reach
Vanderbilt Universityadmits 6%	6%Reach	8%Reach	12%Reach
Johns Hopkins Universityadmits 6%	6%Reach	8%Reach	12%Reach
Bowdoin Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Colby Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	15%Reach
Pomona Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Swarthmore Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Northwestern Universityadmits 8%	7%Reach	10%Reach	15%Reach
Rice Universityadmits 8%	7%Reach	9%Reach	16%Reach
Williams Collegeadmits 8%	7%Reach	10%Reach	16%Reach
Cornell Universityadmits 9%	8%Reach	10%Reach	18%Reach
U.S. Naval Academyadmits 9%	8%Reach	13%Reach	21%Reach
UCLAadmits 9%	8%Reach	11%Reach	18%Reach

Show all 100 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)
Amherst Collegeadmits 9%	8%Reach	11%Reach	18%Reach
New York Universityadmits 9%	8%Reach	11%Reach	18%Reach
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
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
Carleton Collegeadmits 20%	14%Reach	22%Reach	41%Target
Florida A&M Universityadmits 21%	25%Target	40%Target	51%Likely
Hillsdale Collegeadmits 21%	14%Reach	28%Target	48%Likely
Skidmore Collegeadmits 21%	14%Reach	29%Target	49%Likely
Smith Collegeadmits 21%	14%Reach	26%Target	47%Likely
University of Richmondadmits 22%	15%Reach	28%Target	51%Likely
Wake Forest Universityadmits 22%	15%Reach	25%Target	46%Likely
Crown Collegeadmits 23%	30%Target	44%Target	56%Likely
Florida State Universityadmits 24%	16%Reach	35%Target	59%Likely
University of Floridaadmits 24%	15%Reach	31%Target	57%Likely
Lehigh Universityadmits 26%	17%Reach	34%Target	61%Likely
Trinity University (TX)admits 26%	25%Target	48%Likely	62%Likely
UC San Diegoadmits 27%	17%Reach	32%Target	59%Likely
University of Texas at Austinadmits 27%	17%Reach	33%Target	62%Likely
Villanova Universityadmits 27%	17%Reach	33%Target	61%Likely
Franklin & Marshall Collegeadmits 28%	18%Reach	38%Target	64%Likely
Bucknell Universityadmits 29%	19%Reach	41%Target	70%Safety
UC Irvineadmits 29%	18%Reach	40%Target	69%Likely
Bryn Mawr Collegeadmits 29%	18%Reach	38%Target	67%Likely
Macalester Collegeadmits 29%	18%Reach	38%Target	67%Likely
Mississippi Collegeadmits 29%	35%Target	58%Likely	71%Safety
Trinity Collegeadmits 29%	19%Reach	41%Target	68%Likely
Cal Poly San Luis Obispoadmits 31%	19%Reach	43%Target	73%Safety
Lafayette Collegeadmits 31%	20%Reach	44%Target	73%Safety
Kenyon Collegeadmits 31%	20%Reach	43%Target	72%Safety
Fairfield Universityadmits 33%	27%Target	56%Likely	77%Safety
UC Santa Barbaraadmits 33%	21%Reach	45%Likely	76%Safety
Hope International Universityadmits 33%	42%Target	65%Likely	78%Safety
William & Maryadmits 34%	22%Reach	43%Target	75%Safety
Oberlin Collegeadmits 34%	22%Reach	47%Likely	77%Safety
Southern Universityadmits 35%	54%Likely	72%Safety	82%Safety
Brescia Universityadmits 35%	46%Likely	69%Likely	81%Safety
San Diego State Universityadmits 36%	28%Target	61%Likely	84%Safety
Mount Holyoke Collegeadmits 36%	25%Target	55%Likely	82%Safety
Case Western Reserve Universityadmits 37%	24%Reach	48%Likely	80%Safety
Connecticut Collegeadmits 37%	24%Reach	54%Likely	83%Safety
Dickinson State Universityadmits 37%	51%Likely	73%Safety	84%Safety

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. "Top 100 Hardest Colleges to Get Into." 2026. https://collegecalcai.com/data/top-100-hardest-colleges

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15%median acceptance rate, top 100 hardest colleges to get into (100 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI

<a href="https://collegecalcai.com/data/top-100-hardest-colleges?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">15%median acceptance rate, top 100 hardest colleges to get into (100 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.