How hard is it to get into the nation's most selective universities? See the 25 lowest acceptance rates in the US.

Harvard's Class of 2029 received 47,893 applications. The university accepted less than 4% of those applicants. Business Insider compiled the nation's 25 universities that are the hardest to get into. Eight universities had an acceptance rate of under 5% in 2024. Fear of rejection is driving students to apply to more schools, pushing down admission rates. People are applying to more colleges than ever before, but admission to some of the US's top universities remains highly competitive. Using federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Business Insider compiled a list of the 25 universities in the US that are hardest to get into in 2024. With a few exceptions, universities are generally larger institutions that offer a wide range of academic programs, including bachelor's and graduate degrees. They also often contain smaller colleges, such as colleges of education, engineering, or health sciences. For the Class of 2028, admission rates at the hardest-to-get-into schools ranged from roughly 3% to 11% — and among the lowest were at Ivy Leagues, including Yale University, Harvard University, and Columbia University. For instance, Yale University is the fourth-most competitive university on this list, with just about 4% of its 57,517 applicants admitted. Harvard's is 3.6%. With acceptance rates at some highly selective schools falling to record lows in the latest admissions cycle, students may increasingly look to less competitive — and often cheaper — options. A May post by the college consulting firm Top Tier Admissions, declining admission rates are partly driven by students becoming increasingly worried about being rejected by schools, leading to a huge spike in applications per student. That, however, breeds more selectivity, and the cycle continues, the firm said. The increasing use of "early decision" to lock in students has also let universities become choosier during the regular decision cycle. See the 25 universities across the US with the lowest admission rates in 2024. For context, each school's tuition, applicants, student population, and most popular major were also included. 25. University of Notre Dame SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 15: The Band of the Fighting Irish march across campus on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Photo by Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images) Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images Location: Notre Dame, Indiana Applicants: 29,942 Acceptance rate: 11.3% Student population: 13,000 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $69,280 Most popular major: Finance 24. Boston University BOSTON, MA - APRIL 23: College students file across the BU College of Communication campus at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts on April 23, 2015. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Location: Boston Applicants: 78,769 Acceptance rate: 11.1% Student population: 38,093 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $73,024 Most popular major: Business Administration and Management 23. University of California-Berkeley BERKELEY, CA - APRIL 17: UC Berkeley students walk through Sather Gate on the UC Berkeley campus April 17, 2007 in Berkeley, California. Robert Dynes, President of the University of California, said the University of California campuses across the state will reevaluate security and safety policies in the wake of the Location: Berkeley, California Applicants: 124,242 Acceptance rate: 11.0% Student population: 45,882 students 2026-2027 Academic Year In-State Tuition: $18,214 Most popular major: Data science 22. Emory University oung people are seen on the Emory University campus in Atlanta, Georgia on October 14, 2022. - Riven by angst over a warming planet, fearful for democracy and facing a financially uncertain future, young people tend to be among the most politically engaged groups in the United States. Location: Atlanta Applicants: 33,450 Acceptance rate: 10.6% Student population: 16,000 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $70,300 Most popular major: Management Sciences and Information Systems 21. University of Southern California OS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 17, 2025 -- Students, academics and visitors walk past the Tommy Trojan statue at USC on October 17, 2025. Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Location: Los Angeles Applicants: 82,027 Acceptance rate: 9.8% Student population: 46,000 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $75,384 Most popular major: Business 20. New York University NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 30: People walk by New York University (NYU) as tensions between supporters of Palestine and Israel increase on college campuses across the nation on October 30, 2023 in New York City. Location: New York City Applicants: 110,807 Acceptance rate: 9.2% Student population: 56,800 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $68,576 Most popular major: Visual and Performing Arts 19. University of California, Los Angeles os Angeles, CA - April 08: Students walk through campus at University of California, Los Angeles on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA Ronaldo Bolañ Location: Los Angeles Applicants: 146,272 Acceptance rate: 9.0% Student population: 49,013 students 2026-2027 Academic Year In-State Tuition: $16,430 Most popular major: Business Economics 18. Cornell University professor lectures students at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, US, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. US college costs just keep climbing and the increase is pushing the annual price for the upcoming academic year at Ivy League schools toward yet another hold-on-to-your-mortarboard mark. Location: Ithaca, New York Applicants: 62,993 Acceptance rate: 8.8% Student population: 26,561 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $49,816 Most popular major: Computer Science 17. Rice University NITED STATES - AUGUST 21: New students and their parents walk outside Lovett Hall during an orientation tour on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 21, 2009. Location: Houston Applicants: 32,473 Acceptance rate: 8.0% Student population: 9,200 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $71,140 Most popular major: Computer Science 16. Northwestern University EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 5: Rohit Katakam, center, a Northwestern student, cheers during a football game against Indiana University at Martin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. on Saturday, October 5, 2024. Vincent Alban for The Washington Post via Getty Images Location: Evanston, Illinois Applicants: 49,474 Acceptance rate: 7.7% Student population: 23,400 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $71,802 Most popular degree: Economics 15. Johns Hopkins University Two students walk on a brick path in front of Gilman Hall on the Keyser Quadrangle of the Homewood campus of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, 2014. JHU Sheridan Libraries/ Location: Baltimore Applicants: 45,895 Acceptance rate: 6.4% Student population: 30,210 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $68,670 Most popular major: Cellular and Molecular Biology 14. Vanderbilt University ashville, Tenn., - Oct., 24, 2023: Students make their way around campus at Vanderbilt University. (Photo by William DeShazer for The Washington Post via Getty Images) William DeShazer for The Washington Post via Getty Images Location: Nashville Applicants: 45,409 Acceptance rate: 5.9% Student population: 13,575 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $69,822 Most popular degree: Human and Organizational Development 13. Duke University People walk by Duke Chapel on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, U.S., on Friday, March 26, 2010. Location: Durham, North Carolina Applicants: 51,795 Acceptance rate: 5.7% Student population: 17,325 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $73,740 Most popular degree: Computer Science 10. Dartmouth College (tie) Baker-Berry Library on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. Dartmouth Colleges endowment returned 47% in the fiscal year that ended in June, the latest university to post some of the strongest investment gains in decades. Location: Hanover, New Hampshire Applicants: 31,656 Acceptance rate: 5.4% Student population: 6,900 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $71,697 Most popular major: Economics 10. University of Pennsylvania (tie) HILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES - APRIL 18: A view from the University of Pennsylvania as the Trump administration suspended $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over controversy surrounding swimmer Lia Thomas, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, on April 18, 2025. Location: Philadelphia Applicants: 65,226 Acceptance rate: 5.4% Student population: 29,384 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $65,670 Most popular major: Business, Management and Related Support Services 10. Brown University (tie) ROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - DECEMBER 14: Students walk through the campus at Brown University following a mass shooting yesterday that left at least two people dead and nine others injured on December 14, 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island. A suspect in the shooting was detained overnight at a hotel in a Location: Providence, Rhode Island Applicants: 48,904 Acceptance rate: 5.4% Student population: 11,164 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $74,568 Most popular major: Computer Science 9. Northeastern University BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 14: Students walk Northeastern University campus on September 14, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. On Tuesday evening, a university employee was injured when a package sent to the virtual reality lab at Holmes Hall exploded when he opened it. ( Location: Boston Applicants: 98,425 Acceptance rate: 5.2% Student population: 47,367 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $70,000 Most popular major: Business, Management, and Engineering 8. Princeton University eople walk on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013. Residents in Princeton, New Jersey, have sued the municipality and the university, saying the school should lose its tax-exempt status because it shares royalties from patents with faculty. Location: Princeton, New Jersey Applicants: 40,468 Acceptance rate: 4.6% Student population: 9,106 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $68,140 Most popular degree: Economics 6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (tie) he Maclaurin Buildings on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. The presidents of Harvard University and MIT have been under scrutiny amid furor over their remarks to Congress about antisemitism on campus. MIT Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts Applicants: 28,232 Acceptance rate: 4.5% Student population: 11,816 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $92,760 Most popular major: Computer Science and Engineering 6. University of Chicago (tie) Hyde Park campus, University of Chicago. : Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Location: Chicago Applicants: 43,612 Acceptance rate: 4.5% Student population: 19,140 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $75,960 Most popular major: Economics 5. Columbia University NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 02: Students walk past the main entrance of Columbia University on the first day of the fall semester in New York City, United States on September 2, 2025. Location: New York City Applicants: 60,115 Acceptance rate: 4.0% Student population: 35,173 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $72,800 Most popular major: Computer Science 4. Yale University he Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut, US, on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Campuses across the US have been grappling with pro-Palestinian protests and counter demonstrations since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Location: New Haven, Connecticut Applicants: 57,517 Acceptance rate: 3.9% Student population: 15,657 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $94,100 Most popular degree: Economics 2. Harvard University (tie) CAMBRIDGE, MA - MAY 24: A glimpse into the Harvard University campus on May 24, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thousands of foreign students at Harvard University were stuck in administrative limbo and looking for alternatives on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard's ability t Zhu Ziyu/VCG via Getty Images Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts Applicants: 54,008 Acceptance rate: 3.6% Student population: 24,317 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $62,226 Most popular major: Economics 2. Stanford University (tie) A Stanford professor says AI is driving students to pause degrees and chase startups like a modern gold rush. Location: Stanford, California Applicants: 57,326 Acceptance rate: 3.6% Student population: 17,314 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $67,731 Most popular major: Computer Science 1. California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology is the most difficult US university to get into. Location: Pasadena, California Applicants: 13,856 Acceptance rate: 2.6% Student population: 2,368 students 2026-2027 Academic Year Tuition: $68,574 Most popular degree: Computer Science Read the original article on Business Insider

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