People--that would be high school juniors and seniors and their parents--pay close attention to these lists. Some might say, too close attention. But the lists sell magazines and books. Atlantic Monthly's list is somewhat different from that of U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review, which both rank colleges based on a myriad of factors. This list is based on one thing only: the difficulty of admission.
The top 10 most selective colleges in the United States, according to Atlantic Monthly:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Princeton
- California Institute of Technology
- Yale
- Harvard
- Stanford
- Columbia
- University of Pennsylvania
- Brown
- Swarthmore
While the Atlantic Monthly formula is quite simplistic, the U.S. News methodology is considered complex and even controversial. The formula used for years--but stopped as of the 2003 ranking--included something called "yield," which reflected the number of students who accepted the school's offer of admission. To increase the yield rate, many colleges have upped the number of students they accept in early decision, which limits the number they can accept later. This has created more pressure on high school seniors, something guidance counselors have deplored. Now U.S. News has agreed not to use yield as part of the formula, which still includes graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, and more.
Top 10 best colleges as ranked by U.S. News & World Report:
- Princeton
- Harvard
- Yale
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- California Institute of Technology
- Duke
- Stanford
- University of Pennsylvania
- Dartmouth College
- Washington University in St. Louis
Princeton Review's top 10 colleges that are the "toughest to get into":
- United States Military Academy
- Princeton
- Harvard
- Yale
- United States Naval Academy
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Davidson College
- Stanford
- Dartmouth
- Cooper Union
