• Academic review site Niche reported the toughest college to gain acceptance into in every state.
  • The list looked at SAT and ACT scores, as well as college acceptance rates.
  • The top three hardest colleges to get into in the US overall are Harvard, Stanford, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

With an acceptance rate of just 5% and typical SAT scores between 1460 and 1590, Harvard University is the United States’ hardest school to get into, according to a list from academic review site Niche.com.

The rankings are based on acceptance rates and SAT and ACT scores reported to the US Department of Education. College acceptance rates received a weighted average of 60% in the ranking computation, and SAT/ACT scores received a weighted average of 40% (with 20% coming from scores self-reported by Niche users).

Business Insider used Niche’s state filter to find out which college and university is the hardest to get into in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Scroll through to find out the most selective school in each state, along with their acceptance rate and SAT/ACT score range.


Alabama: The University of West Alabama

Foto: sourceUniversity of West Alabama

http://instagr.am/p/BkBInP1BCPL

Acceptance rate: 28%

SAT range: 860-1020

ACT range: 18-23


Alaska: University of Alaska Fairbanks

Foto: sourceEQRoy/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 77%

SAT range: 1030-1270

ACT Range: 17-25


Arizona: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott

Foto: sourceWikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 77%

SAT range: 1130-1350

ACT range: 23-29


Arkansas: University of Arkansas

Foto: sourceNatalia Bratslavsky/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 66%

SAT range: 1100-1280

ACT range: 23-29


California: Stanford University

Foto: sourceturtix/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 5%

SAT range: 1390-1540

ACT range: 32-35


Colorado: United States Air Force Academy

Foto: sourceMike Kaplan/Wikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 12%

SAT range: 1210-1390

ACT range: 28-32


Connecticut: Yale University

Foto: Yale UniversitysourceFrancisco Anzola/Flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 7%

SAT range: 1460-1580

ACT range: 32-35


Delaware: University of Delaware

Foto: sourceMathieu Plourde/Flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 63%

SAT range: 1130-1330

ACT range: 25-29


District of Columbia (DC): Georgetown University

Foto: sourcelillisphotography/Getty Images

Acceptance rate: 16%

SAT range: 1350-1520

ACT range: 30-34


Florida: University of Miami

Foto: sourceBarbara Kalbfleisch/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 36%

SAT range: 1230-1420

ACT range: 28-32


Georgia: Emory

Foto: sourceEQRoy/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 22%

SAT range: 1350-1520

ACT range: 30-33


Hawaii: Brigham Young University at Hawaii

Foto: sourceDdaniel Ramirez/Wikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 37%

SAT range: 1090-1250

ACT range: 22-26


Idaho: Northwest Nazarene University

Foto: sourceNorthwest Nazarene University

Acceptance rate: 73%

SAT range: 1030-1230

ACT range: 20-27


Illinois: University of Chicago

Foto: sourceQuinn Dombrowski/Flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 8%

SAT range: 1480-1580

ACT range: 32-35


Indiana: University of Notre Dame

Foto: sourceJonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Acceptance rate: 19%

SAT range: 1370-1520

ACT range: 32-34


Iowa: Grinnell College

Foto: sourceVia Wikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 29%

SAT range: 1310-1510

ACT range: 30-34


Kansas: Central Christian College of Kansas

Foto: sourceCentral Christian College of Kansas

Acceptance rate: 39%

SAT range: 890-1120

ACT range: 17-22


Kentucky: Berea College

Foto: sourceEdison Angamarca/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 39%

SAT range: 890-1120

ACT range: 17-22


Louisiana: Tulane University

Foto: sourceFotoluminate LLC/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 21%

SAT range: 1330-1490

ACT range: 30-33


Maine: Bowdoin College

Foto: sourceDaderot/Wikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 14%

SAT range: 1360-1510

ACT range: 31-33


Maryland: Johns Hopkins University

Foto: sourceLester Spence/Wikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 13%

SAT range: 1450-1570

ACT range: 33-35


Massachusetts: Harvard University

Foto: sourceAP Photo/Lisa Poole

Acceptance rate: 5%

SAT range: 1460-1590

ACT range: 32-35


Michigan: University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Foto: sourceRebecca Cook/Reuters

Acceptance rate: 27%

SAT range: 1330-1500

ACT range: 30-33


Minnesota: Carleton College

Foto: sourceDogs1337/Wikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 21%

SAT range: 1360-1530

ACT range: 31-34


Mississippi: Mississippi College

Foto: sourceRandall R. Saxton/Flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 39%

SAT range: 1070-1290

ACT range: 22-29


Missouri: Washington University in St. Louis

Foto: sourceEvan Meyer/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 16%

SAT range: 1470-1570

ACT range: 32-34


Montana: Rocky Mountain College

Foto: sourceRocky Mountain College/Facebook

Acceptance rate: 64%

SAT range: 910-1150

ACT range: 20-25


Nebraska: University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Foto: sourceNati Harnik/AP Images

Acceptance rate: 64%

SAT range: 1100-1380

ACT range: 22-29


Nevada: University of Nevada - Las Vegas

Foto: sourceKen Wolter/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 81%

SAT range: 1030-1240

ACT range: 19-24


New Hampshire: Dartmouth College

Foto: sourceSarunas burdulis/Flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 10%

SAT range: 1430-1560

ACT range: 30-34


New Jersey: Princeton University

Foto: sourceEduardo Munoz/Reuters

Acceptance rate: 6%

SAT range: 1430-1570

ACT range: 31-35


New Mexico: New Mexico Tech

Foto: sourcewikipedia public domain

Acceptance rate: 22%

SAT range: 1190-1390

ACT range: 23-29


New York: Columbia University

Foto: sourceMike Segar/Reuters

Acceptance rate: 7%

SAT range: 1410-1570

ACT range: 31-34


North Carolina: Duke University

Foto: sourceMatt Phillips/Flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 10%

SAT range: 1388-1540

ACT range: 31-35


North Dakota: Mayville State University

Foto: sourceWikimedia Commons / Willjay

Acceptance rate: 48%

SAT range: 693-915

ACT range: 18-23


Ohio: Case Western Reserve University

Foto: sourceFlickr/OZinOH

Acceptance rate: 33%

SAT range: 1340-1520

ACT range: 30-33


Oklahoma: University of Tulsa

Foto: sourceMarc Carlson/Flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 39%

SAT range: 1150-1440

ACT range: 25-32


Oregon: Reed College

Foto: sourcePng Studio Photography/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 36%

SAT range: 1310-1500

ACT range: 30-33


Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania

Foto: sourceKevin83002/Wikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 9%

SAT range: 1420-1560

ACT range: 32-35


Rhode Island: Brown University

Foto: sourcejiawangkun/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 8%

SAT range: 1400-1570

ACT range: 31-35


South Carolina: Clemson University

Foto: sourceRob Hainer/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 47%

SAT range: 1220-1390

ACT range: 27-31


South Dakota: Augustana University

Foto: sourceDirk Lammers/AP Images

Acceptance rate: 68%

SAT range: 1070-1290

ACT range: 23-29


Tennessee: Vanderbilt University

Foto: sourcemirsascha/flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 11%

SAT range: 1440-1570

ACT range: 32-35


Texas: Rice University

Foto: sourcecheng/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 16%

SAT range: 1490-1580

ACT range: 33-35


Utah: Brigham Young University

Foto: sourceGeorge Frey/Reuters

Acceptance rate: 52%

SAT range: 1210-1410

ACT range: 27-32


Vermont: Middlebury College

Foto: sourceFlickr/cogdogblog

Acceptance rate: 17%

SAT range: 1320-1510

ACT range: 30-34


Virginia: Washington & Lee University

Foto: sourceTaber Andrew Bain/flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 22%

SAT range: 1320-1490

ACT range: 31-33


Washington: University of Washington

Foto: sourceCurtis Cronn / Flickr

Acceptance rate: 46%

SAT range: 1190-1420

ACT range: 27-32


West Virginia: Alderson Broaddus College

Foto: sourceCarol M. Highsmith/Wikimedia Commons

Acceptance rate: 41%

SAT range: 930-1080

ACT range: 18-23


Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin - Madison

Foto: sourceFlickr/Richard Hurd/CC 2.0 Attribution

Acceptance rate: 54%

SAT range: 1280-1450

ACT range: 27-31


Wyoming: University of Wyoming

Foto: sourceC5 Media/Shutterstock

Acceptance rate: 97%

SAT range: 1040-1290

ACT range: 22-27