The United States boasts some of the world’s most prestigious universities. According to The Times higher education ranking list, seven of the top ten universities in the world are in the country.

With university getting more and more expensive, students are looking for universities and courses that will make them the most money in their careers. Indeed, those that attend Ivy League school graduates report higher earnings than their peers that attended other schools. The median Ivy League grad makes over twice what graduates of all other schools do ten years after starting university.

It is no surprise, then, that these universities are some of the most in demand on the planet. Highly prestigious universities attract a large number of applicants, leading to lower acceptance rates as they can afford to be more selective. This is further narrowed by specialised programs, such as medical, engineering, or law schools, that tend to have very low acceptance rates due to the limited number of slots available.

The toughest see less than one in ten students accepted.

The lowest acceptance rates

Top national university admission statistics have been detailed by Ivy Coach. The lowest admission rates, for the class of 2026, is Harvard University with 3%. Using its data from the class of 2027, the students who are starting this autumn, just 1,942 students were accepted from nearly 60,000 applicants.

This was jointly followed by Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Yale, and Columbia with 4% accepted applications. That is just one in 25 people!

College/University Acceptance Rates

College/University	2023 US News Rank ("Best National Universities")	Class of 2027 Total Applications	Class of 2027 Total Admitted	Class of 2027 Overall Admission Rate	Class of 2026 Overall Admission Rate
Princeton University	#1	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	4%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	#2	26,914	1,259	5%	4%
Harvard University	#3	56,937	1,942	3.41%	3%
Stanford University	#3	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	4%
Yale University	#3	52,250	2,275	4.35%	4%
University of Chicago	#6	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	7%
Johns Hopkins University	#7	38,200	2,403	6.29%	6%
University of Pennsylvania	#7	59,000+	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	6%
California Institute of Technology	#9	Not Yet Released	412	Not Yet Released	4%
Duke University	#10	49,469	2,948	6%	6%

However, the less well-known universities cannot afford to pick and choose students. According to US News & World Report, there are 37 universities in the country that had an acceptance rate of 100%. Literally no one failed to get in for the class of 2026.

The universities are:

• Adams State University
• Albizu University - Miami
• Alliance University
• Alliant International University
• Art Academy of Cincinnati
• Baptist College of Florida
• Benedictine College
• Broward College
• Cameron University
• Central Christian College of Kansas
• Criswell College
• Design Institute of San Diego
• Divine Word College
• Goddard College
• Grace Christian University
• Grand View University
• Lewis-Clark State College
• Middle Georgia State University
• Missouri Western State University
• Montana State University - Billings
• Naropa University
• North Florida College
• Roberts Wesleyan College
• Sacred Heart Major Seminary
• Snow College
• Southern Virginia University
• South Florida State College
• Southwest Baptist University
• Sterling College (VT)
• Universidad Adventista de las Antillas
• University of Guam
• University of Maine - Presque Isle
• University of Providence
• The University of Texas at El Paso
• Wayne State College
• Weber State University
• Western New Mexico University