A Rose By Any Other Name
Highly REJECTIVE
Colleges
What would you call a university that seems to value EXCLUSION and REJECTIONÂ as sign of quality?
Highly REJECTIVE Criteria
To qualify for the list a college must reject more than 70% of applicants, keep enrollment low, and privilege wealth.Â
72
Seventy-two colleges rejected more than 70% of their applicants in 2020.
67
Of those 72 colleges, 67 had students from families with a median income of more than $100,000.
54
Of the 72 colleges, 54 awarded Pell Grants to 20% or less of enrolled freshmen students.
48
Of the 72 colleges, 48 had application growth to enrollment growth of more than 2 to 1 from 2001 to 2020.
Highly REJECTIVE List
Institution Name | Rejectivity Ranking | Percent Rejected | Percent Change in Apps 2001 – 2020 | Enrollment Change 2001 – 2020 | Median Family Income | Percent of Undergrads Awarded Pell grants | Percent Undergrads | |
Colorado College | 284 | 86% | 202.30% | 0.56% | $277,500 | 14% | 99% | |
Washington University in St Louis | 278 | 84% | 34.15% | 41.82% | $272,000 | 15% | 50% | |
Colgate University | 276 | 73% | 41.66% | 3.38% | $270,200 | 10% | 100% | |
Washington and Lee University | 267 | 75% | 70.06% | -5.94% | $261,000 | 11% | 83% | |
Middlebury College | 250 | 78% | 69.57% | 18.04% | $244,300 | 15% | 97% | |
Colby College | 242 | 90% | 256.15% | 15.98% | $236,100 | 18% | 100% | |
Georgetown University | 236 | 83% | 38.25% | 5.08% | $229,100 | 13% | 38% | |
Bates College | 233 | 86% | 80.49% | -17.70% | $226,500 | 9% | 100% | |
Tufts University | 232 | 84% | 68.81% | 38.87% | $224,800 | 10% | 50% | |
Pitzer College | 223 | 83% | 86.60% | 0.45% | $216,600 | 12% | 100% | |
Davidson College | 220 | 80% | 67.14% | 10.87% | $213,900 | 14% | 100% | |
Hamilton College | 214 | 82% | 61.77% | -5.81% | $208,600 | 22% | 100% | |
Brown University | 211 | 92% | 121.56% | 27.52% | $204,200 | 13% | 68% | |
Vanderbilt University | 211 | 88% | 276.63% | 9.06% | $204,500 | 17% | 52% | |
Dartmouth College | 207 | 91% | 109.97% | -2.49% | $200,400 | 15% | 66% | |
Claremont McKenna College | 207 | 87% | 83.09% | 20.23% | $201,300 | 20% | 100% | |
University of Pennsylvania | 203 | 91% | 120.36% | -2.93% | $195,500 | 15% | 42% | |
Bowdoin College | 203 | 91% | 107.28% | 2.65% | $195,900 | 15% | 100% | |
Yale University | 200 | 93% | 173.30% | -6.51% | $192,600 | 20% | 39% | |
Boston College | 199 | 74% | 54.16% | 14.50% | $194,100 | 14% | 65% | |
Wesleyan University | 198 | 79% | 80.10% | -0.41% | $192,400 | 15% | 93% | |
University of Notre Dame | 198 | 81% | 126.46% | 7.71% | $191,400 | 11% | 69% | |
Barnard College | 196 | 86% | 131.00% | 25.45% | $190,100 | 15% | 100% | |
Duke University | 194 | 92% | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0! | $186,700 | 12% | 42% | |
Princeton University | 192 | 94% | 140.48% | -0.43% | $186,100 | 25% | 61% | |
Williams College | 191 | 85% | 87.80% | -7.31% | $185,800 | 19% | 99% | |
Tulane University of Louisiana | 188 | 89% | 304.09% | 18.72% | $180,700 | 8% | 61% | |
Johns Hopkins University | 184 | 89% | 229.88% | 38.42% | $177,300 | 20% | 22% | |
Northwestern University | 178 | 91% | 166.64% | 0.85% | $171,200 | 20% | 38% | |
Carleton College | 178 | 79% | 69.54% | -12.21% | $172,400 | 14% | 100% | |
Harvard University | 176 | 95% | 112.59% | -9.98% | $168,800 | 17% | 28% | |
Stanford University | 175 | 95% | 137.39% | -0.62% | $167,500 | 18% | 40% | |
Haverford College | 174 | 82% | 75.99% | 12.84% | $168,700 | 15% | 100% | |
Pomona College | 173 | 91% | 179.85% | 1.53% | $166,500 | 19% | 100% | |
Swarthmore College | 172 | 91% | 231.91% | -1.84% | $165,500 | 20% | 100% | |
University of Southern California | 168 | 84% | 126.60% | 18.66% | $161,400 | 17% | 43% | |
Rice University | 168 | 89% | 248.00% | 50.45% | $160,800 | 16% | 53% | |
Denison University | 165 | 72% | 172.15% | 9.40% | $160,400 | 12% | 100% | |
Amherst College | 164 | 88% | 104.89% | 0.93% | $158,200 | 24% | 100% | |
University of Virginia-Main Campus | 161 | 77% | 177.35% | 27.01% | $155,500 | 13% | 68% | |
Carnegie Mellon University | 161 | 83% | 56.86% | 24.20% | $154,700 | 14% | 49% | |
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 159 | 74% | 169.34% | 24.17% | $154,000 | 20% | 65% | |
Cornell University | 158 | 89% | 211.40% | 66.62% | $151,600 | 15% | 62% | |
Columbia University | 158 | 93% | #N/A | #N/A | $150,900 | 20% | 27% | |
Northeastern University | 157 | 80% | 336.71% | -9.52% | $150,900 | 12% | 66% | |
Rhode Island School of Design | 156 | 73% | 66.36% | -1.67% | $151,400 | 16% | 78% | |
New York University | 155 | 79% | 162.66% | 114.36% | $149,300 | 19% | 52% | |
California Institute of Technology | 154 | 93% | 137.95% | 5.14% | $146,300 | 11% | 40% | |
Harvey Mudd College | 151 | 82% | 122.90% | 20.11% | $145,400 | 14% | 100% | |
Boston University | 147 | 80% | 121.34% | -19.08% | $141,000 | 17% | 52% | |
Wellesley College | 146 | 80% | 118.93% | 0.35% | $141,000 | 23% | 100% | |
Emory University | 145 | 81% | 198.72% | 6.58% | $139,800 | 21% | 50% | |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 144 | 93% | 91.37% | 3.88% | $137,400 | 20% | 39% | |
University of Chicago | 142 | 93% | 360.83% | 70.86% | $134,500 | 13% | 40% | |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 140 | 75% | 152.12% | 30.16% | $135,100 | 21% | 64% | |
Vassar College | 137 | 75% | 52.25% | -15.52% | $132,800 | 20% | 100% | |
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 136 | 79% | 331.11% | 46.52% | $130,000 | 11% | 42% | |
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art | 132 | 82% | 8.21% | -2.80% | $127,300 | 30% | 91% | |
Case Western Reserve University | 130 | 70% | 523.72% | 76.83% | $125,700 | 18% | 47% | |
Babson College | 126 | 73% | 107.90% | 51.51% | $121,200 | 14% | 74% | |
University of California-Berkeley | 125 | 83% | 167.15% | 65.19% | $119,900 | 21% | 73% | |
California Institute of the Arts | 125 | 73% | -6.24% | 13.33% | $120,900 | 23% | 65% | |
Grinnell College | 125 | 81% | 310.96% | 1.96% | $119,700 | 18% | 100% | |
University of California-Los Angeles | 110 | 86% | 167.24% | 50.36% | $104,900 | 25% | 71% |