The Most Selective College in Every State

jayem · Jun 16, 2015

Some are obvious, like Harvard in MA, Princeton in NJ, and Duke in NC. Though I would've thought Emory in GA is more selective than Albany State (?). I know it's very tough to get accepted at Stanford, but I'm kinda surprised it's harder than Cal Tech.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/care...t-selective-college-in-every-state/ss-BBkKlrU

SuperCloud · Jun 16, 2015

Being selective, or more selective, is good and lends to credibility to a point.

But on the other hand one ought ask what weight, what meaning, does one to put on a college or university being more or the most selective?

In the case of Wisconsin in that list you provided, Mount Mary is an all female college or university (at the undergad level), and I'm sure it does well at what it does as a liberal arts campus. It has a gorgeous, green campus by the way. With green lawn stretching forever.

But I would not put Mount Mary above MSOE and Marquette when being cognizant of a wider curriculum. Especially in terms of specialties related to the modern economy. There may be other things too like physical education--weight rooms and so forth.

http://www.msoe.edu/welcome

http://www.marquette.edu/

SuperCloud · Jun 16, 2015

SuperCloud · Jun 16, 2015

Mount Mary.

From your link the most selective higher education institution in the State of Wisconsin.

Ada Lovelace · Jun 17, 2015

jayem said:
Some are obvious, like Harvard in MA, Princeton in NJ, and Duke in NC. Though I would've thought Emory in GA is more selective than Albany State (?). I know it's very tough to get accepted at Stanford, but I'm kinda surprised it's harder than Cal Tech.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/care...t-selective-college-in-every-state/ss-BBkKlrU

Wow. The most competitive college in North Dakota reportedly only had 417 applicants. It made me think of a college I read about a few months ago that sends thoughtful, personalized letters to each applicant who is denied admission explaining why he or she wasn't admitted and how improvements can be made. It's a lovely service but impractical for most. I don't know how many people applied to that college, but it would have to be a small number if they could be so generous with their time. I wonder if there are any other colleges that provides a similarly gentle and gracious let-down. Anyhoooooo. I agree that most of the list is obvious, but that there are a few surprises, such as for Florida and Georgia.

The information is actually outdated for Stanford. It states that there were 38,828 applicants, but that was for the class of 2017 that was admitted back in 2013. This year there were 42,487 applicants, and 2,144 were admitted. The admit rate is currently 5.05%, which is a historic low. Since the yield rate for the class of 2019 is 81.1%, and the financial aid program has expanded the income threshold for academic tuition waivers to an annual parental income of $125,000, there will likely be even more applicants for the class of 2020 and the admit rate could dip into the four percent range.

I don't know what the Cal Tech admit rate was for this year, but it was 8.1% of the class of 2018, which is comparable to MIT's c/o 19 rate of 8%.

Blue Wren · Jun 19, 2015

It is difficult, to earn a place at Swedish universities, but not nearly as much, as at some in the U.S. What criteria, do they use, when there are so many applicants, so few places? I am also, so surprised, by how expensive universities are there! $50,000, and up, for some, yes?

trunks2k · Jun 19, 2015

Blue Wren said:
What criteria, do they use, when there are so many applicants, so few places?

There is not single set of criteria that is used to get into a college. In High School students will take the SAT or ACT which will give a score that many colleges have been using for a long time as a rough idea. Some schools may not even consider you if you have a score below a certain number. Then you fill out an application, which will usually ask you about what activities you do, ask you to write an essay of some sort, etc. There is a common application that you can use so you can do one application and send it to multiple schools rather than filling out several slightly different ones. Though, not all schools accept those. The applications are then reviewed be a panel, and you go from there. Some schools ask for additional tests, such as the SAT II (which is harder more focused on specific subjects and a wider variety of subjects). One school I applied to, UPenn, required two SAT IIs (I just did English and Math, and actually did way better on the SAT II math than I did on the SAT Math) as well as an in person interview.

Students applying for colleges are strongly encouraged to apply to multiple colleges. At least one that you know you are going to get into, a couple you have a good chance to get into, and the school you really want to go to. I applied to five schools and got accept to three of them. One the three I never actually finished the application because I had already been accepted to a school I would have rather gone to; I think I got accept there in part because my sister was an alumni.

I am also, so surprised, by how expensive universities are there! $50,000, and up, for some, yes?

PER YEAR. Though that's like top of the line expensive in the US. Private universities are in the $30K/year range. Public universities are in the $20K/year range for in state students. The cost of them are rising more and more. Though, there are a lot of scholarships, grants, and other financial aid available that most kids can get that lower this cost. Few people pay full price (if you exclude student loan interest). The school I went to has a five year program and currently costs $31K-$46K per year depending on the year of the program. That's is, as far as I can, tell not including housing costs should you want to live on campus. That school is on the higher end of prices, and last I checked rivaled (exceeded, actually if you were to live on campus for the year) the cost of a nearby Ivy League school. I graduated ten years ago and I think my highest per year cost was $30K before grants and scholarships, so that gives you an idea of how much the school costs are rising.

keith99 · Jun 19, 2015

Artemis97 said:
Wow. The most competitive college in North Dakota reportedly only had 417 applicants. It made me think of a college I read about a few months ago that sends thoughtful, personalized letters to each applicant who is denied admission explaining why he or she wasn't admitted and how improvements can be made. It's a lovely service but impractical for most. I don't know how many people applied to that college, but it would have to be a small number if they could be so generous with their time. I wonder if there are any other colleges that provides a similarly gentle and gracious let-down. Anyhoooooo. I agree that most of the list is obvious, but that there are a few surprises, such as for Florida and Georgia.

The information is actually outdated for Stanford. It states that there were 38,828 applicants, but that was for the class of 2017 that was admitted back in 2013. This year there were 42,487 applicants, and 2,144 were admitted. The admit rate is currently 5.05%, which is a historic low. Since the yield rate for the class of 2019 is 81.1%, and the financial aid program has expanded the income threshold for academic tuition waivers to an annual parental income of $125,000, there will likely be even more applicants for the class of 2020 and the admit rate could dip into the four percent range.

I don't know what the Cal Tech admit rate was for this year, but it was 8.1% of the class of 2018, which is comparable to MIT's c/o 19 rate of 8%.

My rejection letter from Cal Tech said I was good enough to benefit from an education there but that there were other even better qualified applicants.

The most selective number is just the percentage of applicants accepted. Most on the list are schools that have significant self selection in application.

If some school a step down from either Cal Tech or Stanford suddenly got a huge endowment that was restricted to reducing tuition and that got publicity I'd expect it to top either, at least for a while. Especially if it were a fairly small school like Harvey Mudd.

Ada Lovelace · Jun 19, 2015

keith99 said:
My rejection letter from Cal Tech said I was good enough to benefit from an education there but that there were other even better qualified applicants.

The most selective number is just the percentage of applicants accepted. Most on the list are schools that have significant self selection in application.

If some school a step down from either Cal Tech or Stanford suddenly got a huge endowment that was restricted to reducing tuition and that got publicity I'd expect it to top either, at least for a while. Especially if it were a fairly small school like Harvey Mudd.

Which schools on the list do you think have significant self selection in application? The admit rate is simply the percentage of applicants who are admitted, but some lists of the most selective colleges and universities also factor in other criteria. On the MSN list Berea College is cited as the most selective for admission, but currently a tiny college named Alice Lloyd College has a lower admit rate.

http://www.businessinsider.com/thes...selective-than-some-ivy-league-schools-2015-3

There are several higher learning institutes that have long provided free or substantially reduced tuition to anyone in need of it, but are relatively obscure, such as ALC, the College of the Ozarks, and Cooper Union. It's only been since 2013 that Cooper Union, due to financial issues, no longer gave full rides to each student.

Stanford has historically been on of the most competitive colleges for admission, even prior to it having the generous financial policies that it does now. When it had the same income threshold for tuition waivers as Harvard it still had a lower admit rate.
Now that anyone whose parents are earning less than $125,000 a year annually can have their tuition fees waived, the demand will likely increase, but the supply of available spots will remain the same, if not lower. The yield rate has reached new historic highs each year, while the admit rate has plunged to new historic lows.

keith99 · Jun 19, 2015

Artemis97 said:
Which schools on the list do you think have significant self selection in application? The admit rate is simply the percentage of applicants who are admitted, but some lists of the most selective colleges and universities also factor in other criteria. On the MSN list Berea College is cited as the most selective for admission, but currently a tiny college named Alice Lloyd College has a lower admit rate.

http://www.businessinsider.com/thes...selective-than-some-ivy-league-schools-2015-3

There are several higher learning institutes that have long provided free or substantially reduced tuition to anyone in need of it, but are relatively obscure, such as ALC, the College of the Ozarks, and Cooper Union. It's only been since 2013 that Cooper Union, due to financial issues, no longer gave full rides to each student.

Stanford has historically been on of the most competitive colleges for admission, even prior to it having the generous financial policies that it does now. When it had the same income threshold for tuition waivers as Harvard it still had a lower admit rate.
Now that anyone whose parents are earning less than $125,000 a year annually can have their tuition fees waived, the demand will likely increase, but the supply of available spots will remain the same, if not lower. The yield rate has reached new historic highs each year, while the admit rate has plunged to new historic lows.

Phrased it poorly. I meant the students who apply self select. Stanford and Cal Tech are excellent examples. Oh there are exceptions, 40 years ago Cal Tech would get a handful of applications that were laughable. Remember for some students a $50 application fee matters and that means every year there will be students with a mere 750 on the math part of the SAT and the same for Math level 2, Chem and Physics on the SAT Subject tests who will choose to pass on applying to Cal Tech. I'm not saying the same kind of thing does not occur with Stanford, it does, it is just easier to illustrate for Tech when the self selection is only on the math/science end.

Maren · Jun 20, 2015

It was interesting to me that Brigham Young University was listed twice; once for their Hawaii campus(2,664 applicants), and also for their main campus in Utah (11,423 applicants). The Hawaii campus apparently has 2,800 students, the Utah campus about 30,000.

Blue Wren · Jun 22, 2015

trunks2k said:
There is not single set of criteria that is used to get into a college. In High School students will take the SAT or ACT which will give a score that many colleges have been using for a long time as a rough idea. Some schools may not even consider you if you have a score below a certain number. Then you fill out an application, which will usually ask you about what activities you do, ask you to write an essay of some sort, etc. There is a common application that you can use so you can do one application and send it to multiple schools rather than filling out several slightly different ones. Though, not all schools accept those. The applications are then reviewed be a panel, and you go from there. Some schools ask for additional tests, such as the SAT II (which is harder more focused on specific subjects and a wider variety of subjects). One school I applied to, UPenn, required two SAT IIs (I just did English and Math, and actually did way better on the SAT II math than I did on the SAT Math) as well as an in person interview.

Students applying for colleges are strongly encouraged to apply to multiple colleges. At least one that you know you are going to get into, a couple you have a good chance to get into, and the school you really want to go to. I applied to five schools and got accept to three of them. One the three I never actually finished the application because I had already been accepted to a school I would have rather gone to; I think I got accept there in part because my sister was an alumni.

PER YEAR. Though that's like top of the line expensive in the US. Private universities are in the $30K/year range. Public universities are in the $20K/year range for in state students. The cost of them are rising more and more. Though, there are a lot of scholarships, grants, and other financial aid available that most kids can get that lower this cost. Few people pay full price (if you exclude student loan interest). The school I went to has a five year program and currently costs $31K-$46K per year depending on the year of the program. That's is, as far as I can, tell not including housing costs should you want to live on campus. That school is on the higher end of prices, and last I checked rivaled (exceeded, actually if you were to live on campus for the year) the cost of a nearby Ivy League school. I graduated ten years ago and I think my highest per year cost was $30K before grants and scholarships, so that gives you an idea of how much the school costs are rising.

Thank-you, for this response. It is very informative. I spent this past year, in the US, on a research scholar exchange programme. I enjoyed it so much, I looked at possibly applying, for a graduate degree. I would love to spend more time there. It's so expensive! Too expensive. I did not do research, on the application process, as the cost, it was too prohibitive. I was fortunate, and I did not have to pay anything, for my time there. I'm going to Karolinska, and it's free, for EU / EEA citizens. It's comparable, in quality, to many top US universities, that charge so much. Our taxes, are so much higher than in the US, so this is the downside. Earning a place is difficult, as you must have high grades in many advanced science & math classes, but it's not so complicated as in the US. For universities, like Stanford, Cal Tech, many of the people who apply probably have near-perfect grades, SAT scores, ect. I don't know how they then decide, on who gets a place.

Blue Wren · Jun 22, 2015

keith99 said:
Phrased it poorly. I meant the students who apply self select. Stanford and Cal Tech are excellent examples. Oh there are exceptions, 40 years ago Cal Tech would get a handful of applications that were laughable. Remember for some students a $50 application fee matters and that means every year there will be students with a mere 750 on the math part of the SAT and the same for Math level 2, Chem and Physics on the SAT Subject tests who will choose to pass on applying to Cal Tech. I'm not saying the same kind of thing does not occur with Stanford, it does, it is just easier to illustrate for Tech when the self selection is only on the math/science end.

What's the highest possible score? How many earn it?

trunks2k · Jun 22, 2015

Blue Wren said:
What's the highest possible score? How many earn it?

On the SAT, the highest possible score when I took it was 1600. The test was divided into two parts, math and english, each worth a possible 800 points. A couple years after that, they added an additional writing section which was worth an additional 800 points but I believe they have since revoked that portion of the test. All the additional SAT II tests are also worth 800 points per test subject.

IIRC, the score is technically not a straight up score of how many you got correct over how many you got wrong. Rather it is your score based on where you did in relation to everyone else in the country who took the test in that period. A score of 800 on a given section just means you did better than 99.9% of the other test takers.

Blue Wren · Jun 22, 2015

trunks2k said:
On the SAT, the highest possible score when I took it was 1600. The test was divided into two parts, math and english, each worth a possible 800 points. A couple years after that, they added an additional writing section which was worth an additional 800 points but I believe they have since revoked that portion of the test. All the additional SAT II tests are also worth 800 points per test subject.

IIRC, the score is technically not a straight up score of how many you got correct over how many you got wrong. Rather it is your score based on where you did in relation to everyone else in the country who took the test in that period. A score of 800 on a given section just means you did better than 99.9% of the other test takers.

Ah, I see. What scores do people need, to earn a place at universities, such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, etc, ect? Close to 1600? How is the ACT, different from the SAT? Do these tests, only test English & maths, not science, history, etc? Thank-you, again.

trunks2k · Jun 22, 2015

Blue Wren said:
Ah, I see. What scores do people need, to earn a place at universities, such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, etc, ect? Close to 1600? How is the ACT, different from the SAT? Do these tests, only test English & maths, not science, history, etc? Thank-you, again.

High end schools usually need a score over 1400. Though that is certainly not a given, I had a sub-1400 score and at least got to the point in admissions for an Ivy League school that got me an interview. Your actual grades make a big difference as does things like extra curricular activities. Also, money. If you a rich enough, grades aren't an issue.

The thing about SATs is that when taken as a single point of information, it is apparently the best indicator of how successful you will be in college that we have. However, what is better is looking at the whole picture of a given student. Grade history, types of classes taken, etc. That's much more time consuming though, but colleges are trying to move in that direction and rely less on standardized tests. Especially as there's good evidence that the SATs have a built in, though unintended, bias.

The standard SAT is only math and english. The SAT IIs cover a variety of subjects including History, Chem, Bio, foreign languages etc. But those are optional tests that most people will not take unless necessary.

I don't know much about the ACT, as it wasn't a popular test in my region of the country, but it seems as though the ACT does have a science section.

Colleges also look favorable on AP exams. AP courses are college level courses you can take in high school in a variety of subjects (I took history, statistics, and I THINK english, I don't recall 100%). You then take an exam at the end of the year in your subject and given a score on a scale 1 to 4. Based on that score, a college may decide that the course counts as a credit. For example, if a college requires a basic biology class in your first year of school and you get a 3 on the AP exam, they may consider that requirement already met. Either way, just taking the courses looks very good.

Maren · Jun 22, 2015

Blue Wren said:
Ah, I see. What scores do people need, to earn a place at universities, such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, etc, ect? Close to 1600? How is the ACT, different from the SAT? Do these tests, only test English & maths, not science, history, etc? Thank-you, again.

The ACT covers Math, Science, Reading, and English. The highest possible score is 36. Many of the state schools require a minimum score in the low 20s (though some are as low as 17), better schools require a score in the high 20s, and the best schools, such as the Ivy League schools, require a minimum score as high as 32.

essentialsaltes · Jun 22, 2015

I would point out that some colleges encourage applications for the simple reason that it makes them look more selective. That said, obviously most of these schools are very good schools.

bhsmte · Jun 22, 2015

Selection criteria, is really fairly unique to each school.

Some higher end schools, lean heavily towards in state residents and will turn down those who are more than academically qualified to enter their school from out of state. Some schools are looking for certain percentages of minorities and will allow entrance to those, even if others are more qualified.

Than, you have the political side of it as well, when certain applicants parents may have some pull.

keith99 · Jun 22, 2015

trunks2k said:
On the SAT, the highest possible score when I took it was 1600. The test was divided into two parts, math and english, each worth a possible 800 points. A couple years after that, they added an additional writing section which was worth an additional 800 points but I believe they have since revoked that portion of the test. All the additional SAT II tests are also worth 800 points per test subject.

IIRC, the score is technically not a straight up score of how many you got correct over how many you got wrong. Rather it is your score based on where you did in relation to everyone else in the country who took the test in that period. A score of 800 on a given section just means you did better than 99.9% of the other test takers.

My understanding is the SAT is a normalized test. 500 is average on any section and 800 means 3 standard deviations above average. From what I've heard it is possible to find out if you answered every question correctly. Heard that from a friend who knew a student who scored 800 while missing a couple of questions and retook it to get a perfect score.

Oh and 200 is the lowest score possible on any section. some poor scores are actually far worse than they seem. 400=0

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