College Acceptance Rates
College Acceptance Rates 2026: Data for Top U.S. Schools
In recent years, college acceptance rates have dropped. Why? More students are applying, but the number of available spots hasn’t increased at the same pace.
In the 2025–2026 admissions cycle alone, a total of 1,429,747 unique first-year applicants submitted applications through the Common App—up by 16.43% (201,731 more applicants) from the previous year. Since students can apply to multiple schools, this resulted in 9,423,621 total applications to 911 schools—a 40.31% increase (about 2,707,375 more applications) compared to the prior year.
At the same time, college enrollment has been steadily decreasing. Between 2011 and 2021, enrollment dropped by an average of 1.6% per year. With fewer students enrolling but more applications flooding in, competition for spots is getting tougher.
To give you a clearer picture of college acceptance rate trends, we’ve compiled data from the Class of 2024 to the Class of 2030 for top schools ranked by U.S. News & World Report (2026). This includes leading national universities and top liberal arts colleges.
Our data comes directly from official school announcements, Common Data Sets (CDS), and verified institutional sources to ensure accuracy.
National Universities Acceptance Rates
National universities are major institutions that offer a wide range of undergraduate programs along with master’s and doctoral degrees. They prioritize research, often awarding professional doctorates, and play a key role in higher education by driving innovation and providing diverse academic opportunities.
Here’s a look at the acceptance rates for some of the top national universities:
| Rank | School | Class of 2030 | Class of 2029 | Class of 2028 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2026 | Class of 2025 | Class of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton University | TBA | 4.42% | 4.62% | 4.50% | 5.70% | 4.38% | 5.63% |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4.58% | 4.56% | 4.55% | 4.80% | 3.96% | 4.11% | 7.26% |
| 3 | Harvard University | TBA | 4.18% | 3.65% | 3.45% | 3.24% | 4.01% | 5.01% |
| 4 | Stanford University | TBA | N/A | 3.61% | 3.91% | 3.68% | 3.95% | 5.19% |
| 4 | Yale University | 4.24% | 4.75% | 3.87% | 4.50% | 4.57% | 5.31% | 6.53% |
| 6 | University of Chicago | TBA | 4.48% | 4.48% | 4.79% | 5.43% | 6.48% | 6.20% |
| 7 | Duke University | 4.73% | 5.20% | 5.71% | 6.78% | 6.17% | 5.88% | 7.79% |
| 7 | Johns Hopkins University | TBA | 6.11% | 6.44% | 7.56% | 7.25% | 7.52% | 8.79% |
| 7 | Northwestern University | 7.00% | 7.40% | 7.69% | 7.22% | 7.21% | 6.97% | 9.31% |
| 7 | University of Pennsylvania | 5.84% | 4.87% | 5.40% | 5.87% | 6.50% | 5.87% | 8.98% |
| 11 | California Institute of Technology | 3.75% | 3.79% | 2.57% | 3.14% | 2.69% | 3.92% | 6.69% |
| 12 | Cornell University | TBA | 8.38% | 8.41% | 7.90% | 7.26% | 8.69% | 10.71% |
| 13 | Brown University | 5.61% | 6.34% | 5.39% | 5.23% | 5.06% | 5.51% | 7.67% |
| 13 | Dartmouth College | 5.84% | 6.03% | 5.40% | 6.23% | 6.38% | 6.17% | 9.22% |
| 15 | Columbia University | 4.23% | 4.94% | 3.86% | 4.00% | 3.74% | 3.89% | 6.15% |
| 15 | University of California, Berkeley | 10.49% | 11.43% | 10.98% | 11.66% | 11.33% | 14.44% | 17.48% |
| 17 | Rice University | 7.73% | 8.01% | 8.00% | 7.88% | 8.68% | 9.48% | 10.89% |
| 17 | University of California, Los Angeles | 10.84% | 9.41% | 8.97% | 8.73% | 8.57% | 10.77% | 14.33% |
| 17 | Vanderbilt University | 4.08% | 4.60% | 5.86% | 6.28% | 6.67% | 7.14% | 11.62% |
| 20 | Carnegie Mellon University | TBA | 11.07% | 11.66% | 11.40% | 11.30% | 13.54% | 17.27% |
| 20 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | TBA | 16.42% | 15.64% | 17.94% | 17.69% | 20.15% | 26.11% |
| 20 | University of Notre Dame | 9.00% | 9.38% | 11.27% | 12.38% | 12.91% | 15.07% | 18.99% |
| 20 | Washington University in St. Louis | TBA | 11.92% | 12.06% | 11.96% | 11.33% | 13.00% | 16.02% |
| 24 | Emory University | 12.29% | 14.95% | 14.49% | 16.24% | 15.82% | 20.40% | 20.78% |
| 24 | Georgetown University | 13.00% | 13.49% | 12.91% | 13.08% | 12.22% | 11.98% | 16.81% |
| 26 | University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill | TBA | 16.73% | 15.34% | 18.74% | 16.85% | 19.24% | 23.54% |
| 26 | University of Virginia | 12.53% | 15.65% | 16.81% | 16.86% | 18.66% | 20.74% | 22.58% |
| 28 | University of Southern California | 11.67% | 11.19% | 9.81% | 10.01% | 12.02% | 12.51% | 16.11% |
| 29 | University of California San Diego | 27.21% | 28.56% | 26.77% | 24.76% | 23.83% | 34.31% | 38.30% |
| 30 | University of Florida | 19.81% | 20.33% | 24.20% | 24.03% | 23.35% | 30.14% | 31.13% |
| 30 | University of Texas-Austin | TBA | 22.20% | 26.64% | 29.10% | 31.41% | 28.75% | 31.95% |
| 32 | Georgia Institute of Technology | 13.26% | 13.34% | 14.07% | 16.46% | 17.13% | 18.30% | 21.34% |
| 32 | New York University | TBA | 9.06% | 9.23% | 9.41% | 12.46% | 12.96% | 21.09% |
| 32 | University of California, Davis | 45.79% | 44.35% | 41.83% | 41.64% | 37.34% | 48.74% | 46.35% |
| 32 | University of California, Irvine | 30.29% | 28.95% | 28.78% | 25.75% | 21.27% | 28.94% | 29.92% |
| 36 | Boston College | 12.70% | 13.85% | 16.19% | 15.65% | 16.68% | 19.04% | 26.38% |
| 36 | Tufts University | 10.00% | 10.81% | 11.53% | 10.13% | 9.69% | 11.43% | 16.30% |
| 36 | University of Illinois Urbana Champaign | TBA | 36.59% | 42.37% | 43.69% | 44.82% | 59.66% | 63.30% |
| 36 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | TBA | 40.81% | 45.17% | 43.32% | 49.06% | 60.31% | 57.22% |
| 40 | University of California, Santa Barbara | 43.98% | 38.21% | 32.97% | 27.78% | 25.85% | 29.18% | 36.70% |
| 41 | The Ohio State University | TBA | 49.20% | 60.57% | 50.82% | 52.72% | 57.18% | 68.49% |
| 42 | Boston University | TBA | 12.83% | 11.11% | 10.85% | 14.37% | 18.65% | 20.09% |
| 42 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | TBA | 60.53% | 58.15% | 65.35% | 66.29% | 68.16% | 66.93% |
| 42 | University of Maryland, College Park | TBA | 45.03% | 44.80% | 44.84% | 44.50% | 51.99% | 51.03% |
| 42 | University of Washington | TBA | 41.75% | 39.15% | 42.53% | 47.52% | 53.48% | 55.89% |
| 46 | Lehigh University | TBA | 28.94% | 25.93% | 29.26% | 36.98% | 45.97% | 49.54% |
| 46 | Northeastern University | TBA | 5.62% | 5.22% | 5.65% | 6.80% | 18.38% | 20.48% |
| 46 | Purdue University-Main Campus | TBA | 43.43% | 38.44% | 50.28% | 52.69% | 68.88% | 67.14% |
| 46 | University of Georgia | 29.84% | 34.25% | 37.92% | 37.19% | 42.51% | 40.14% | 48.35% |
| 46 | University of Rochester | 43.63% | 41.91% | 40.08% | 35.85% | 38.88% | 40.55% | 35.43% |
| 51 | Case Western Reserve University | TBA | 35.31% | 37.78% | 28.67% | 27.41% | 30.24% | 30.27% |
| 51 | Florida State University | 20.11% | 23.83% | 24.22% | 25.38% | 25.04% | 37.06% | 32.45% |
| 51 | Texas A&M University | TBA | 51.66% | 57.32% | 63.10% | 62.65% | 64.13% | 63.01% |
| 51 | Virginia Tech | TBA | 54.57% | 54.99% | 57.03% | 56.98% | 56.47% | 65.78% |
| 51 | Wake Forest University | 17.00% | 20.37% | 21.67% | 21.56% | 21.37% | 25.18% | 31.98% |
| 51 | William & Mary | 34.43% | 36.96% | 34.07% | 32.72% | 33.50% | 36.54% | 42.16% |
National Liberal Arts Colleges Acceptance Rates
National liberal arts colleges focus on undergraduate education, awarding most of their degrees in fields like social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and the arts. Unlike national universities, which have extensive graduate programs and emphasize faculty research, liberal arts colleges prioritize a well-rounded education that encourages critical thinking and intellectual exploration.
If you’re looking for acceptance rates at top liberal arts colleges in the U.S., check out our resource page:
What Are the Hardest Colleges to Get Into in 2026?
Since not all schools have released Class of 2030 data yet, we’re using Class of 2029 figures to rank the most selective schools. Leading the pack is Caltech, which had the lowest acceptance rate at just 3.78%. It also took last year’s spot with an acceptance rate of 2.57%.
Below are the top 10 most competitive colleges to get into:
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech) – 3.79%
- Harvard University – 4.18%
- Princeton University – 4.42%
- University of Chicago – 4.48%
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – 4.56%
- Vanderbilt University – 4.60%
- Yale University – 4.75%
- University of Pennsylvania – 4.87%
- Columbia University – 4.94%
- Duke University – 5.20%
If you want tips on boosting your chances of getting into these schools, just click on their names. We’ve linked each one to a detailed guide!
College Regular and Early Acceptance Rates
College acceptance rates can vary depending on the application plan you choose.
Regular Decision acceptance rates often reflect the overall selectivity of a school, while Early Decision and Early Action acceptance rates tend to be higher because these applicants demonstrate strong interest and commitment. Some schools fill a significant portion of their incoming class through early applications, making early rounds a strategic option for competitive applicants.
If you’re interested in specific Regular Decision and Early Decision/Early Action acceptance rates, we have dedicated pages covering these statistics in detail:
Check them out to get a clearer picture of how different application plans impact your chances.
College Admissions Chances Calculator
Applying to college can feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to estimating your chances of getting into highly selective schools. That’s where AdmissionSight’s College Admissions Chances Calculator comes in. This tool provides a rough estimate of your likelihood of admission to top U.S. universities based on key academic and extracurricular factors.
Private Consulting Program
While the calculator provides a broad estimate, AdmissionSight’s Private Consulting Program offers a personalized approach to college applications. We will help you stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape.
If you want a detailed analysis of your college admissions chances and expert guidance in building a winning application, schedule a free consultation today.