Academic statistics that matter at the top colleges
The academic statistics for incoming freshman Class of 2025 at the highly selective colleges indicate that these colleges generally admitted academically high performing students, many of whom demonstrated their academic capabilities with clear and measurable metrics like their standardized test scores.
Not every college disclosed all relevant academic data:
59 of the 61 highly selective colleges disclosed SAT and ACT middle 50% test score ranges for the class of 2025, the first year when most colleges introduced test optionality.
28 of the highly selective colleges disclosed average GPA data, with variations in disclosure of weighted and unweighted GPAs.
46 of the colleges disclosed class rank data for the freshman class of 2025 … though this data is both optional and self reported by the applicants.
Middle 50% Range of SAT Test Scores
The SAT test scores for the middle 50% range for the freshman class of 2025 at the 61 highly selective colleges ranged from a low of 1265 to a high of 1580.
Take note that the list of highly selective colleges includes only those colleges with low end of the middle 50% range starting at 1250 and the high end of the middle 50% range starting at 1440 or higher. Colleges with low acceptance rates but middle 50% ranges outside these parameters were excluded from the highly selective list.
The 24 colleges with acceptance rates of less than 10% registered SAT middle 50% test score ranges from a low of 1330 to a high of 1580. Within this group of 24 colleges:
the 7 liberal arts colleges registered middle 50% test score ranges between 1330 and 1550 (spread of 220 points),
the 17 universities registered middle 50% test score ranges between 1440 and 1580 (spread of 140 points).
the 7 colleges with acceptance rates of 5% or less registered SAT middle 50% test score ranges of between 1470 and 1580 (spread of 110 points).
Bates College (1290-1440) and Colorado College (1265-1450) registered the lowest SAT middle 50% ranges for the freshman class of 2025 amongst the highly selective colleges.
For the low end of the middle 50% range:
41 of the colleges registered low end middle 50% ranges starting at 1400,
18 registered low end middle 50% ranges starting at 1300, and
2 colleges registered low end middle ranges starting at 1250.
51 colleges registered high end of the middle 50% range at 1500 or higher, and the remaining 10 colleges registered high end of the middle 50% range at 1400 or higher.
It is important to remember that 25% of the Class of 2025 at these 61 highly selective colleges registered test scores above the published ranges, while another 25% of the Class registered test scores below the published ranges. This means that 75% of the Class of 2025 scored at or above the low end of the published middle 50% range at each college.
Given that the maximum possible SAT score is 1600, the overall test score middle 50% test score ranges reported by the 61 highly selective colleges indicate quite clearly that they held their applicants to a high academic bar and accepted only those who demonstrated measurable academic achievement.
See What a college’s test score ranges mean
In the first year of test optionality, the rate of applicants submitting test scores varied widely. The percentage of the freshman Class of 2025 who submitted test scores ranged from a low of 35% at Pitzer College to a high of 100% of the freshman class submitting test scores at Georgetown University and University of Notre Dame based on the Common Data Sets 2021-2022 filed by the colleges.
Except at Boston University (45%), Northeastern University (42%), Pitzer College (35%), and Villanova University (45%) where a minority of the Class of 2025 submitted test scores, at the remaining 57 highly selective colleges, the majority of the freshman Class of 2025 submitted test scores with their applications.
In today’s admissions environment, assuming that the highly selective colleges have not lowered their academic standards, an applicant who does not submit test scores will have to rely on strong AP and honors classes to demonstrate academic strength.
However, it is also highly likely that some of the admitted students in the preference groups were held to a lower academic bar, placing many of these incoming “preferenced” freshman in the lowest quartile for test scores, if they even submitted one.
See: Key Admission Criteria Used by Top Colleges
Table of Academic and Acceptance Statistics at the 61 highly selective colleges
Data obtained from Common Data Sets and college websites. Babson College, Boston College, CalTech, Colby College, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Grinnell College, New York University, Princeton University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania did not provide Class of 2025 data for either test scores or class rank or both. In each case, we referenced data for the class of 2024 as a substitute, where available.
| Academic Statistics of 61 Highly Selective Colleges | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2025 | |||||||
| College | 2026 Acceptance Rate | 2025 Acceptance Rate | Average GPA | Middle 50% Range SAT Score | Middle 50% Range ACT Score | Class Rank Top 10% | Class Rank Top 25% |
| Amherst College | 7% | 8% | ND | 1440-1540 | 32-34 | 91% | 99% |
| Babson College | - | 25% | ND | 1400-1500 | 31-34 | - | - |
| Barnard College | 8% | 9% | ND | 1445-1530 | 30-33 | 89% | 98% |
| Bates College | 13% | 15% | ND | 1290-1440 | 30-34 | 60% | 82% |
| Boston College | 16% | 19% | ND | 1430-1510 | 33-34 | 79% | 94% |
| Boston University | 14% | 18% | 3.8 | 1390-1490 | 31-34 | 75% | 99% |
| Bowdoin College | 9% | 9% | ND | 1330-1510 | 31-34 | 80% | 96% |
| Brown University | 5% | 6% | ND | 1470-1550 | 33-35 | 91% | 98% |
| California Institute of Technology | - | 4% | ND | 1530-1580 | 35-36 | 91% | 100% |
| Carleton College | - | 17% | ND | 1440-1530 | 31-35 | 69% | 93% |
| Carnegie Mellon University | - | 14% | 3.89 | 1480-1560 | 33-35 | 89% | 100% |
| Claremont McKenna College | - | 11% | ND | 1440-1500 | 32-35 | 61% | 96% |
| Colby College | 7% | 8% | ND | 1380-1520 | 31-34 | 74% | 89% |
| Colgate University | 12% | 17% | 3.77 | 1360-1490 | 31-34 | 77% | 93% |
| Colorado College | 12% | 14% | 3.98 | 1265-1450 | 29-33 | 71% | 93% |
| Columbia University | 4% | 4% | 4.12 | 1510-1560 | 34-35 | 95% | 99% |
| Cornell University | - | 9% | ND | 1450-1540 | 33-35 | 84% | 97% |
| Dartmouth College | 6% | 6% | ND | 1440-1560 | 32-35 | 95% | 99% |
| Davidson College | 17% | 18% | 3.81 | 1340-1480 | 30-33 | 74% | 97% |
| Duke University | 6% | 6% | 3.94 | 1510-1560 | 34-36 | 95% | 98% |
| Emory University | 16% | 20% | 3.81 | 1430-1530 | 32-34 | 76% | 95% |
| Georgetown University | 12% | 12% | ND | 1380-1530 | 32-35 | 85% | 97% |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 17% | 18% | 4.1 | 1370-1520 | 31-35 | 91% | 98% |
| Grinnell College | - | 11% | ND | 1370-1530 | 30-34 | 72% | 94% |
| Hamilton College | 12% | 14% | ND | 1440-1520 | 33-35 | 80% | 99% |
| Harvard University | 3% | 3% | 4.2 | 1480-1580 | 33-36 | 93% | 99% |
| Harvey Mudd College | 13% | 10% | ND | 1470-1540 | 34-36 | - | - |
| Haverford College | - | 18% | ND | 1440-1520 | 33-35 | 95% | 98% |
| John Hopkins University | 6% | 6% | 3.92 | 1480-1550 | 33-35 | 98% | 100% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4% | 4% | 4.17 | 1510-1580 | 34-36 | 97% | 100% |
| Middlebury College | 15% | 13% | ND | 1400-1520 | 32-34 | 80% | 98% |
| Northeastern University | 7% | 18% | ND | 1440-1530 | 33-35 | 71% | 93% |
| Northwestern University | 7% | 7% | ND | 1490-1550 | 33-35 | 95% | 99% |
| New York University | 12% | 13% | 3.71 | 1350-1530 | 31-35 | 82% | 100% |
| Pitzer College | 18% | 18% | 3.93 | 1407-1500 | 31-33 | 69% | 90% |
| Pomona College | 6% | 7% | ND | 1480-1550 | 33-35 | 93% | 100% |
| Princeton University | - | 4% | 3.93 | 1470-1560 | 33-35 | 89% | 96% |
| Rice University | 9% | 9% | ND | 1470-1570 | 34-35 | 92% | 97% |
| Stanford University | - | 4% | 3.96 | 1470-1560 | 34-35 | 96% | 100% |
| Swathmore College | 7% | 8% | ND | 1440-1540 | 33-35 | 90% | 99% |
| Tufts University | 9% | 11% | ND | 1450-1530 | 33-35 | 82% | 97% |
| Tulane University | 8% | 10% | 3.64 | 1380-1490 | 30-33 | 54% | 80% |
| University of California Berkeley | 12% | 15% | 3.87 | 1310-1530 | 30-35 | - | - |
| University of California Los Angeles | - | 11% | 3.92 | 1300-1530 | 29-35 | - | - |
| University of Michigan | - | 20% | 3.88 | 1360-1530 | 31-35 | 77% | 95% |
| University of Chicago | 5% | 6% | 4.48 | 1510-1560 | 33-35 | 99% | 100% |
| University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill | - | 19% | 4.42 | 1330-1500 | 29-33 | 74% | 94% |
| University of Notre Dame | 13% | 15% | ND | 1410-1550 | 32-35 | 91% | 97% |
| University of Pennsylvania* | - | 6% | 3.9 | 1490-1560 | 35-36 | 94% | 98% |
| University of Southern California | 12% | 12% | 3.83 | 1330-1520 | 30-34 | 80% | 95% |
| University of Virginia | 20% | 21% | 4.35 | 1400-1510 | 32-35 | 90% | 98% |
| Vanderbilt University | 6% | 7% | 3.89 | 1480-1570 | 34-35 | 91% | 96% |
| Vassar College | - | 20% | ND | 1420-1520 | 32-34 | 79% | 95% |
| Villanova University | - | 25% | 3.87 | 1350-1490 | 31-34 | 70% | 92% |
| Wake Forest University | - | 25% | ND | 1380-1480 | 30-33 | 69% | 91% |
| Washington and Lee University | - | 19% | ND | 1410-1530 | 32-35 | 78% | 97% |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 10% | 13% | 3.75 | 1490-1570 | 33-35 | 89% | 98% |
| Wellesley College | 13% | 16% | ND | 1410-1530 | 31-35 | 82% | 96% |
| Wesleyan University | 14% | 19% | 1310-1490 | 31-34 | 76% | 94% | |
| Williams College | 9% | 9% | ND | 1470-1550 | 33-35 | 90% | 100% |
| Yale University | 4% | 5% | ND | 1480-1560 | 33-35 | 97% | 99% |
Average GPA
Only 28 of the 61 highly selective colleges disclosed average GPAs for the freshman Class of 2025. The reporting was inconsistent in that some colleges reported unweighted averages, while others reported weighted averages. In general, colleges place more weight on the number of AP classes and the overall rigor of the classes taken by an applicant than they do on the GPA alone. This is largely due to the lack of consistency in curriculums and grading systems across high schools making “like for like” comparisons of GPA very difficult.
While the highly selective colleges view a strong GPA as necessary and reflective of an applicant’s high school work ethic, the GPA alone is not sufficiently indicative of an applicant’s ability to successfully handle rigorous college level coursework.
Read: Do grades matter at the top colleges?
Class Rank
90% or more of the freshman class of 2025 were in the top 10% of their high school class at 23 of the 61 highly selective colleges. At 54 of the highly selective colleges, 90% or more of the freshman class of 2025 ranked in the top 25% of the high school class. At 27 of the colleges, 98% or more of their freshman class of 2025 ranked in the top 25% of their high school class.
This class rank data indicating that the colleges mostly accepted academically high performing students is consistent with the middle 50% test score ranges reported by the colleges which we show in the table above.
However, we have to be mindful of the validity and reliability of the class rank data, given that for nearly all the colleges, only a minority of the 2025 freshman class reported their class rank. We cannot conclude that this data is representative of the class of 2025 in general. Since reporting of class rank by applicants was on a voluntary basis, the data may suffer from a self-selection bias with only those who attained a class rank in the top quartile of their high school class submitting their information.
Based on the limited data on class rank, the 27 colleges with between 98% and 100% of their freshman Class of 2025 ranking within the top 25% of their high school class include Amherst College, Barnard College, Boston University, Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Hamilton College, Harvard University, Haverford College, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, Northwestern University, New York University, Pomona College, Stanford University, Swarthmore College, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Washington University in St Louis, Williams College and Yale University.
Only 3 highly selective colleges had less than 90% of their freshman class of 2025 rank within the top 25% of their high school class. These colleges include Bates College (82%), Colby College (89%), and Tulane University (80%).
Class Rigor
The 61 highly selective colleges do not disclose data relating to the number of AP classes taken by their admitted students. However, it is very clear that the top colleges care a great deal about the rigor of classes taken by applicants in high school, and the only objective way to measure rigor is through AP classes, and to a lesser extent honors level classes.
The number of AP classes an applicant should take is a relative one, largely dependent on the number of AP classes offered by the applicant’s high school. Colleges expect applicants to maximize their opportunities to take AP classes, but they will not penalize applicant’s who have limited access to AP classes at their high school.
An applicant who takes 3 AP classes in a high school that offered 20 would not have maximized their opportunities to take academically rigorous classes. On the other hand, an applicant who takes 4 AP classes in a high school that only offers 7 AP classes would be viewed favorably by college admissions.
The official College Board score matters a great deal. APs are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best possible score. The top colleges typically expect scores of 4s and 5s from their applicants as demonstration of academic achievement, while a score of 3 is generally unhelpful to an applicant’s evaluation for admission.
See: How tough classes demonstrate your college readiness
The academic bar is the first hurdle to cross
The reported middle 50% test score ranges make it quite clear that an applicant must pass a high academic bar to get to the next stage of evaluation in the admissions process. It appears that the highly selective colleges have not compromised when its comes to academic performance, despite having gone test optional.
Before you add a college to your college list and proceed to send them an application, make sure you are well within their academic parameters for a realistic chance at admission.
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