Boston College is a private Jesuit research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Its undergraduate student body of 9,500 is what we would classify as “mid-sized.” It’s definitely not a small school, but if you’re worried about floundering in a large university, there’s no reason to fear. You’re not going to drown in the flood of students moving between classes.

Tulane is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Just over 8,500 undergraduates attend the school and the average class size is 21 students. Tulane is hugely involved with the community in New Orleans, and service work is an academic requirement. Tulane’s acceptance rate has been dropping rapidly over the past few years.  

The University of Notre Dame is a private research university in Notre Dame, Indiana. It is one of the top 25 universities in the United States, and the undergraduate student body is comprised of approximately 8,600 students. Notre Dame is globally renowned for providing students with exceptional research opportunities. Off of campus, over 75% of students study abroad, and Notre Dame is ranked second in the country for producing prestigious Fulbright Scholars.

Pitzer is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Pitzer has an undergraduate student body of just 1060, but it is also part of the Claremont consortium of colleges. As students at one of five schools in the consortium, Pitzer’s small student body has access to a huge variety of classes across the colleges as well as additional dining halls and extracurriculars.

Syracuse is a private research university in Syracuse, New York. About 15,000 undergraduate students attend the school that is located on top of a hill overlooking the city. The acceptance rate is around 50%.

Johns Hopkins University is a research university in Baltimore, Maryland. The university is comprised of nine academic divisions and 5,292 undergraduate students. Johns Hopkins prioritizes diversity. The student body includes individuals from all 50 states and 51 countries. They also prioritize student engagement and on-campus innovation. There are 400 student organizations on campus, and Johns Hopkins spends the most money on research and development of any university in the United States.

Carnegie Mellon is a private research university in Pittsburgh, PA. The school has programs in the fields of arts, business, and humanities but is most known for computing, engineering, and science. In 2018, Carnegie Mellon put out a statement that said that demonstrated interested would no longer be considered. The acceptance rates are broken out by college/program . With the exception of the College of Fine Arts, the acceptance rate for all other programs ranges from 5-14%.

Northwestern University is a private research university ‘headquartered’ Evanston, Illinois and with satellite campuses in Chicago, Illinois, and Doha, Qatar. There are 21,000 students in total across the campuses and 8,600 undergraduate students. Northwestern is known as an academically excellent institution and one of a small group of highly coveted non-Ivy League schools with an overall acceptance rate in the single digits. However, Northwestern may be best known for the Performing Arts department. Seth Meyers is a graduate of the program, along with many other big Hollywood names.

Tufts is a private research university in Medford, Massachusetts. With an acceptance rate of about 14%, Tufts is considered to be highly selective. The university emphasizes community service and leadership, and academic focuses are integrated with outside institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. They also have a campus in the French Alps.

Duke is a private university in Durham, North Carolina. The school is known for intense academics and a booming sports scene. If you’re on the fence about applying early, consider this: 51% of Duke’s class of 2023 was filled by early decision round applicants. The overall acceptance rate for class of 2023 was around 7%.

Haverford College is a small liberal arts college just outside of the city of Philadelphia. There are only 1353 students. But the student body size at Haverford isn’t what makes it unique and, we feel, exceptional. If Haverford is known for anything, it’s the Honor Code. Most colleges and universities have some form of an Honor Code that students have to sign at some point during their tenure. They all read about the same, too. Don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t plagiarize, etc. All good things, but Haverford’s Honor Code makes those Honor Codes look like simpler organisms.

Hi Students! If you are looking for the Common Application supplement for the Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences (not the Conservatory of Music), you'll probably be glad to hear that Oberlin removed it as of September. While there was a supplement in the past, there is no longer!

Bowdoin College is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It is an iconic school, a beloved school, and a small school. Very small by some people’s standards. Bowdoin has only 1800 students, and Brunswick itself is a town of only about 20,000. Some people go to school in New York City or Los Angeles to be in those cities. The school itself is secondary. If you go to Bowdoin, you need to want to be at Bowdoin. And lots of people want to be at Bowdoin! The acceptance rate has continued to drop and is currently 8.9%, making Bowdoin a very competitive school that is nearly as hard to get into as an Ivy.  

Yale is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale is best known as a member of the Ivy League, and it routinely attracts world-renowned educators and researchers. Beyond exceptional academics, Yale meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for their 5,964 students without any loans. The acceptance rate is 6.22%.

Vanderbilt is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has serious southern vibes and was founded in 1873. It is home to many long standing traditions. It’s intense academically and socially, and people love the school. The music and food scene in Nashville are right at Vanderbilt student’s fingertips, and Greek life is huge. About 6,800 undergraduate students attend the school. The acceptance rate for the class of 2022 was 9.6%.

Princeton is a research university in Princeton, New Jersey. One of the best schools in the country and a member of the prestigious Ivy League, Princeton also prides itself on doing well by the 5,300 undergraduate students. Of recent graduates, 82% graduated debt-free. With exceptional academics and generous loan-free aid packages, it’s not surprising that is it hard to get into Princeton. The overall acceptance rate is only 5.5%. When broken down by GPA, students with a 4.0 have a significant advantage. Last year, 8.1% of applicants with a 4.0 GPA were accepted compared to less than 3% of applicants with a GPA below 3.8.

Harvard is a small, relatively unknown, liberal arts school “just outside of Boston.”

The University of Virginia is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s a big school (campus is over 1,600 acres) with about 16,000 undergraduate students. The overall acceptance rate for the class of 2023 was 24%. But when broken down, 36% of in-state students were granted admission and only 19% of non-Virginians got in.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is in, you guessed it, the beautiful town of Chapel Hill in the wonderful state of North Carolina. A public research university, UNC offers affordable in-state tuition, so if you are a North Carolinian already, it’s definitely worth a look. It isn’t an easy school to get into, though. Only about 24% of students who apply are invited to join the 19,000 strong undergraduate student body. If you go, you’ll join the likes of sports greats like Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm, and great-greats like doctor-turned-comedian Ken Jeong.

Cornell is a private research university that is a member of the prestigious Ivy League. Like Columbia, Harvard, and Yale, Cornell is in an urban setting. However, Ithaca, a medium-sized city in upstate New York, is a smaller and more low-key than New York City or Boston. This makes Cornell a great geographic fit for people who want to be surrounded by resources, but don’t want to be shoved on public transit. Cornell has 15,182 undergraduate students spread across a variety of colleges and is famous for their unique programs for an Ivy League institution. Cornell is the only school in the Ivy League to offer degrees in agriculture and hospitality. They boast 50 Nobel Laureates, and 23% of the students are international. The acceptance rate is 10.6%.