Deciding where to go college is the first major life decision many Americans make. And while there are many factors to weigh when selecting a school – including cost and distance from home – many of the 16.6 million American college students today chose to enroll in the best school they could get into.
It is generally believed that graduates of elite colleges and universities are better positioned for higher-paying careers later in life. And there is plenty of evidence to back this claim. According to one study conducted between 1996 and 2014, about 38% of Fortune 500 CEOs and 45% of billionaires attended elite post-secondary schools. (This is where the 25 richest American billionaires went to college.)
Because elite colleges and universities offer high quality and rigorous academic programs, they receive far more applications each year than they can accept. As a result, many of the best schools in the country are also the most selective. It is worth noting that those who graduate from top-tier institutions are high achievers to begin with, and therefore, any career success cannot be attributed to their college education alone.
Based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, of the 39 colleges or universities in Illinois with available data, University of Chicago, located in Chicago, ranks as the hardest school to get into. Only 6.5% of applicants for the fall 2021 semester were admitted, and the median SAT score among enrolled students in the 2020-2021 academic year was 1535 out of a possible 1600.
The average cost of attending University of Chicago as a full-time student is $81,531 for one academic year. Average annual cost of attendance is only for full-time, first-time, undergraduates who receive Title IV aid.
All schools within each state with at least 1,000 applicants in fall 2021 were ranked based on an index score of median SAT scores, from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and admissions rates, from the National Center for Education Statistics. Average annual cost of attendance is also from the College Scorecard.
StateHardest school to get intoAdmissions rate, Fall 2021 (%)Combined median SAT scores (out of 1600)Avg. annual cost of attendance ($)Schools considered in stateAlabamaTuskegee University34.295340,75017AlaskaUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks64.7116019,1351ArizonaOttawa University-Surprise30.598145,1395ArkansasLyon College27.2109141,39612CaliforniaCalifornia Institute of Technology3.9155574,76353ColoradoUnited States Air Force Academy12.41325N/A13ConnecticutYale University5.3152076,64514DelawareUniversity of Delaware72.3124028,7082FloridaUniversity of Florida30.1137521,15127GeorgiaEmory University13.1145572,60429HawaiiUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa70.0117523,4055IdahoThe College of Idaho56.3114545,6076IllinoisUniversity of Chicago6.5153581,53139IndianaUniversity of Notre Dame15.1147574,17227IowaGrinnell College10.5144670,34620KansasSterling College47.499040,4069KentuckyBerea College33.0118054,86618LouisianaTulane University of Louisiana9.6142075,62815MaineColby College8.9145073,6005MarylandJohns Hopkins University7.5151574,00112MassachusettsMassachusetts Institute of Technology4.1154573,16037MichiganUniversity of Michigan-Ann Arbor20.2143030,92625MinnesotaCarleton College17.5142574,27519MississippiMississippi College49.0120034,9188MissouriWashington University in St. Louis13.0152076,91020MontanaThe University of Montana-Western33.3100517,7906NebraskaUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln81.1121524,4006NevadaUniversity of Nevada-Las Vegas83.5114018,7562New HampshireDartmouth College6.2150077,1523New JerseyPrinceton University4.4151074,15019New MexicoEastern New Mexico University-Main Campus32.5105517,8974New YorkColumbia University in the City of New York4.1151579,75081North CarolinaDuke University5.9152077,84641North DakotaUniversity of Mary78.8111030,1944OhioCase Western Reserve University30.2143069,52638OklahomaOklahoma Baptist University55.7110542,98311OregonCorban University37.5108045,91913PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania5.9151578,18661Rhode IslandBrown University5.5150077,4906South CarolinaClemson University49.2130032,25422South DakotaAugustana University71.8122347,7107TennesseeVanderbilt University7.1152073,14823TexasRice University9.5151567,10254UtahBrigham Young University59.2130518,9365VermontMiddlebury College13.4143074,2483VirginiaWashington and Lee University18.8142573,90033WashingtonUniversity of Washington-Seattle Campus53.5132726,82514West VirginiaUniversity of Charleston69.7107343,82912WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison60.4136026,39313WyomingUniversity of Wyoming96.8114020,2581
