In their “America’s Best Colleges” feature every year, U.S. News and World Report creates a list of America’s colleges with the lowest acceptance rates — i.e. the most competitive in terms of admissions.

The three hardest are Julliard School (5% admissions), Harvard University (9% admissions) and Yale University (10% admissions).

You can find it here:

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/webex/lowacc_brief.php

The schools with the lowest acceptance rates (hardest to get into) according to data that they report themselves and is compiled by US News and World Reports. 1) Curtis Institute of Music (Philly) 5% 2) The Juilliard School (NY) 8% 3) Harvard University (Mass) 9% 4) Princeton University (NJ) 10% 4) Yale University (Ct) 10% 4) Stanford University (CA) 10% 7) Columbia University (NY) 11% 7) Cooper Union (NY) 11% 9) US Naval Academy (Md) 12% 9) College of the Ozarks (MO) 12% 9) Mass Institute of Technology – MIT (Mass) 12% That’s the top ten (with ties) based on acceptance rate. You’ll find that the list of “best” colleges is similar. The best colleges are the hardest to get into. Of the national universities top rankings went to: 1) Harvard 2) Princeton 3) Yale 4) MIT 4) Stanford 6) Cal Inst Tech 6) U Penn 8) Columbia 8) Duke 8) U Chicago But these are overall rankings in a specific category. If you’re wanting the best music college or the best education college or he best business college, the list will be different.

The service academies are extremely difficult to get into, in addition to the ones already mentioned.

Judging just by percentage accepted isn’t necessarily the right way to go. Weak students don’t apply to Caltech or MIT, while some do apply to Harvard or Yale just on a lark, or because they think their extracurriculars might get them in, etc.

The service academies require a nomination from a member of Congress before you can even apply, which cuts down the number of applications. Even then, they accept very small fractions of those who apply.

Princeton

Yale

Harvard

MIT

The Cooper Union

are probably the hardest to get into.

All of the ivy league colleges

Yale

princeton

Brown

Dartmouth college

harvard

university of pennsylvania

cornell

columbia

Off the top of my head this college is not ivy league but very hard to get into

Middlebury,

air force academy

well if you are white then it is grambling