There are just under 2400 four-year colleges and universities that award bachelor's degrees in the United States. We define elite schools as the top 1.5% (35) of these undergraduate institutions. Characterized by a great diversity of sizes and settings, elite schools share excellence across a broad array of metrics.
Elite status is not fixed. We update our rankings periodically as new data become available.
Location: Mideast (New Jersey); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 5579; Workload: well above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (highest); Endowment per student: $3,750,669; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 93 (Fall 2022); Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 87.8; Return on investment: very high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 97.6%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Yale, Harvard
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 7554; Workload: below average Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $2,135,335; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 97.8; Socioeconomic diversity: low; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 88.1 (Fall 2022); Return on investment: very high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 91.9%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 19 (highest); Similar schools: Duke, Rice
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 4571; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $2,086,500; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 97 (Fall 2022); Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 3.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 87.6; Return on investment: very high; Rate of producing future PhDs: very high (science), low (humanities); Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 3; Similar schools: Caltech, Carnegie Mellon
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 1023; Workload: well below average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,682,826; Median SATs: 790M/760V(Fall 2020); Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 94.5; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-low; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 3:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 97.8; Return on investment: very high; Rate of producing future PhDs: highest (science); low (humanities); Graduation rate: 93.2%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: MIT, Harvey Mudd
Location: New England (Connecticut); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 6639; Workload: below average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (very high); Endowment per student: $2,714,107; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 96; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.3:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 88.5; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science); high (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Harvard, Princeton
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 7062; Workload: below average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (highest); Endowment per student: $2,133,974; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 94.4; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: lowest; Student to faculty ratio: 7.2:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 89.4; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 98%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Yale, Princeton
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1627; Workload: well above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $1,593,734; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 89; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 7.4:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 92.7; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: very high (science), highest (humanities); Graduation rate: 92.3%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Haverford, Williams
Location: Great Lakes (Illinois); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7473; Workload: well above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $590,518; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 97; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-high; Student to faculty ratio: 5:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 97.1; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 4; Similar schools: Johns Hopkins, WashU
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 2055; Workload: above average Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,708,205; Median SATs: 770M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 91.6; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 6.9:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 94.8; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high (science), very high (humanities); Graduation rate: 97%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 2; Similar schools: Amherst, Swarthmore
Location: Mideast (Maryland); Setting: large city; Enrollment: 5618; Workload: below average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $593,965; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 100; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 96 (Fall 2022); Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high (science), low (humanities); Graduation rate: 94.6%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 5; Similar schools: UChicago, WashU
Location: Southwest (Texas); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 4562: Workload: below average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $993,688; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 91.4; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 90.3; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Duke, Stanford
Location: Southeast (Virginia); Setting: Midsize Suburb; Enrollment: 17,275; Workload: below average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (very high); Endowment per student: $409,030; Median SATs: 750M/730V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 84; Socioeconomic diversity: very high; Free speech rating: highest; Student to faculty ratio:14.2:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 94.9; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: low (science); moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.6%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 9; Similar schools: UNC-Chapel Hill
Location: New England (Rhode Island); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 7273; Workload: well below average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance; Yes (very high); Endowment per student: $615,612; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 92; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.9:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 92.4; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Dartmouth
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 2318; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,272,249; Median SATs: 770M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 90; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 7.4:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 93.5; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 91.5%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 2; Similar schools: Vassar, Swarthmore
Location: Southeast (North Carolina); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 6570; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $705,638; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 95; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: moderate-high; Student to faculty ratio: 5.7:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 96.3; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 1; Similar schools: Rice, Stanford
Location: Southeast (Tennessee); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7143; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $786,230; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 92.5; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 7.3:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 93.7; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: low (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 92.7%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 2; Similar schools: Northwestern, Notre Dame
Location: Plains (Missouri); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 7897; Workload: slightly below average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (high); Endowment per student: $797,649; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 89; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-low; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 7.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 80.7; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 4; Similar schools: UChicago, Johns Hopkins
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 1907; Workload: well above average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $1,858,417; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 93; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 6.85:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 93.8; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 1; Similar schools: Swarthmore, Williams
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1699; Workload: well below average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,810,914; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 90; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 7.2:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 90.9; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 93%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 1.5 (3 shared with Pitzer College); Similar schools: Amherst, Claremont McKenna
Location: Great Lakes (Indiana); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 8917; Workload: average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,399,873; Median SATs: 770M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 92; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 8.2:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 85.9; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: low (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 5; Similar schools: Northwestern, Vanderbilt
Location: New England (New Hampshire); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 4412; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $1,234,823; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 93; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-low; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 6.5:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 90.4; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Brown
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania; Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7005; Workload: well above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $256,224; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 96.8; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-high; Student to faculty ratio: 6.25:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 91.4; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low (science), very low (humanities); Graduation rate: 94.1%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 1; Similar schools: MIT, Caltech
Location: Great Lakes (Illinois); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 8837; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $686,393; Median SATs: 780M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 94; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 6.4:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 95; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: low (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 3; Similar schools: Notre Dame, Vanderbilt
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 8902: Workload: well above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (high); Endowment per student: $477,934; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 94.5; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: lowest; Student to faculty ratio: 6.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 76; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0.5 (1 shared with Barnard College); Similar schools: Cornell, UPenn
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 10,572; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (moderate); Endowment per student: $875,155; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 92; Socioeconomic diversity: low; Free speech rating: very low; Student to faculty ratio: 7.6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 89.3; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: low (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 96.1%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Columbia, Cornell
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 373; Workload: well below average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,065,460; Median SATs: 780M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 80; Socioeconomic diversity: ND; Free speech rating: ND; Student to faculty ratio: 8.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 85.2; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: NA
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 2430; Workload: below average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (moderate); Endowment per student: $536,712; Median SATs: 750M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 79; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 7.3:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 90.2; Return on investment: moderate-low; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 91%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Bowdoin, Wellesley
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 15,995; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $385,133; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class 85.6; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 9.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 89.5; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Columbia, UPenn
Location: New England (Maine); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 1909; Workload: below average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,397.968; Median SATs: 770M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 85.1; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 8.7:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 95.8; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.3%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Vassar, Williams
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 906; Workload: well above average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $497,864; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class 92; Socioeconomic diversity: ND; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 8.4:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 92.2; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: very high (science), low (humanities); Graduation rate: 92%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0.67 (2 shared with Claremont McKenna and Scripps Colleges); Similar schools: Caltech, Pomona
Location: Southeast (North Carolina); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 19,921: Workload: average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (moderate); Endowment per student: $190,139; Median SATs: 750M/730V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 77; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 14.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 87.5; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: low (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 91.2%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 8; Similar school: Univ. of Virginia
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 31,574; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $71,929; Median SATs: 720M/690V (Fall 2020); Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 96 (Fall 2020); Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 18.7:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: ND; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 93%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 6; Similar school: UCLA
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1431; Workload: well below average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $497,188; Median SATs: 760M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class 94.1; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 8.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 94.1; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 90%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Bowdoin, Swarthmore
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1379; Workload: well below average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $898,167; Median SATs: 780M/750; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 75; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: high; Student to faculty ratio: 7.6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 95.7; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: very low (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 91.1%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0.67 (2 shared with Harvey Mudd and Scripps Colleges); Similar schools: Pomona, Bowdoin
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 32,423; Workload: slightly above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; National Historic Landmarks: 0; Endowment per student: $82,398; Median SATs: 710M/695V (Fall 2020);Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: ND; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 19.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: ND; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: low (science), low (humanities); Graduation rate: 92.7%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 8; Similar schools: UCal-Berkeley
*denotes school with updated 2024-2025 data on SATs, HS class rank, faculty PhDs, student to faculty ratio, and graduation rate. Data on location, setting, and enrollment obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ and from College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/. Data on workload obtained from College Niche https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/all-colleges/. See Methods & Data page for all other data categories
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