
In college planning, we often get caught up in focusing on the most highly-selective (or highly-rejective) colleges and universities in the US.
But the truth is mucher kinder. There is a college of university for everyone.
So, while the odds made be ever NOT in your favor at the country's most selective colleges, there are so many other amazing options to consider.
Based on Fall 2023 admission data (which is still the most widely available data available on the topic), here are 41 Excellent Colleges with Higher Acceptance Rates (50% or higher!) to help you build a more balances unviersity list.
State | University Name | Fall 2023 Acceptance Rate | Website |
ALABAMA | Auburn University | 71 | |
CALIFORNIA | University of San Diego | 53 | |
Santa Clara University | 54 | ||
Pepperdine University | 49.9 | ||
UC Riverside | 66 | ||
UC Santa Cruz | 59 | ||
UC Merced | 86 | ||
CONNECTICUT | University of Connecticut | 56 | |
DELAWARE | University of Delaware | 70 | |
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | George Washington University | 50 | |
American University | 64 | ||
ILLINOIS | University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign | 60 | |
University of Illinois - Chicago | 79 | ||
INDIANA | Purdue University - West Lafayette | 69 | |
Indiana University - Bloomington | 85 | ||
IOWA | University of Iowa | 86 | |
MARYLAND | University of Maryland, College Park | 52 | |
MASSACHUSETTS | University of Massachusetts - Amherst | 66 | |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 60 | ||
MICHIGAN | Michigan State University | 83 | |
MINNESOTA | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | 73 | |
NEW JERSEY | Rutgers University - New Brunswick | 67 | |
New Jersey Institute of Technology | 69 | ||
NEW YORK | Yeshiva University | 62 | |
Fordham University | 58 | ||
Syracuse University | 59 | ||
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 53 | ||
University at Buffalo - SUNY | 70 | ||
OHIO | The Ohio State University | 57 | |
PENNSYLVANIA | The Pennsylvania State University | 58 | |
University of Pittsburgh | 67 | ||
RHODE ISLAND | University of Rhode Island | 70 | |
TEXAS | Texas Christian University | 54 | |
Southern Methodist University | 53 | ||
Baylor University | 57 | ||
Texas A&M University | 64 | ||
UTAH | Brigham Young University - Provo | 59 | |
VIRGINIA | Virginia Tech | 56 | |
WASHINGTON | Gonzaga University | 76 | |
WISCONSIN | University of Wisconsin - Madison | 60 | |
Marquette University | 86 |
Importantly, this post isn’t intended to encourage your move away from applying to potentially more selective college and universities. Instead, it is meant to do two things:
Help calm the storm stirred up by ultra-low admission rates at highly-selectives that bleeds into conversations about admission in general, and
Expand your personal university research to create a more balanced list.
College admissions is nerve racking – unnecessarily so at times.
We can help, and we might just make this whole process fun too!
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