Most selective colleges in Pennsylvania
Ranked by how few applicants they admit. Every one of these is a reach for every applicant, whatever the numbers say.
10 colleges
- University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA5% admit1510–1570 SAT
- Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore, PA7% admit1490–1560 SAToptional
- Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA12% admit1500–1570 SATRequired
- Haverford CollegeHaverford, PA12% admit1460–1550 SAToptional
- Lehigh UniversityBethlehem, PA26% admit1370–1500 SAToptional
- Villanova UniversityVillanova, PA27% admit1395–1510 SAToptional
- Franklin and Marshall CollegeLancaster, PA28% admit1310–1463 SAToptional
- Bucknell UniversityLewisburg, PA29% admit1310–1470 SAToptional
- Bryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr, PA29% admit1280–1510 SAToptional
- Lafayette CollegeEaston, PA31% admit1350–1500 SAToptional
Acceptance rate and cost from U.S. Department of Education reporting; admitted SAT, ACT and GPA from each college’s Common Data Set where it publishes one. Every name links to that school’s full read.
Check your own numbers
Where do you stand at these schools?
Add your GPA and scores once and get a read on every school on this list, plus whether the list you are building adds up. No account.
Open the chances calculatorCommon questions
How was most selective colleges in pennsylvania built?
From published federal reporting and each college's own Common Data Set, filtered and sorted on the number the list is about. It is not a ranking and there is no editorial judgment in the order.
What should I do with a list like this?
Use it to find candidates, then check each one against your own numbers. A school being on a list says nothing about whether it fits you, and the fit question is the one that matters.
What Spike does with this
A list is a start, not a plan.
Spike reads your whole profile against every school on it, then works on the parts a list cannot show.
One email when Spike opens. No card, no account. About the waitlist.