This Map Shows the Toughest College to Get into in Every State

The college application process is in full-swing for rising high school seniors, according to the College Board, a not-for-profit organization that helps more than seven million students each year prepare for college. The College Board recommends applying to anywhere from five to eight colleges, including some that are “likely to admit you,” some that may be “a bit of stretch,” and a number of what seem like “a good, realistic match.”

But what is a “good, realistic match” anyway?

Even a quick Internet search of “college acceptance rates” will tell you that it’s harder than ever to get into college. However, the College Board reports that fewer than 100 American schools are “highly selective” (accepting less than 25 percent of students), and close to 500 four-year colleges accept more than 75 percent of applicants. There are also many schools that accept all or most students who apply. The best way to get started is to see your high school guidance counselor to talk about the application process, the colleges that will suit you, and options for financial aid.

“Stay focused on what’s important to you and what you want to get out of the college experience,” the College Board advises, basing your choices on how well various colleges fit your needs and how your credentials stack up against what they consider to be their average accepted student. “Colleges care most about the academic work you’ve done in high school,” although they also look into what you’ve done outside the classroom. The most selective colleges also take SAT and ACT scores into account. In fact, the academic review site, niche.com, used test scores as a major criterion in its newly published list of the country’s most competitive colleges, basing their results on acceptance rates and SAT/ACT test scores using data from the U.S. Department of Education.

Guidance counselors won’t tell you to choose a college based on which one is most competitive, but it’s certainly reasonable to consider college acceptance rates before filling out your applications. Accordingly, we’ve broken down Niche.com’s list of most selective colleges to map out the hardest colleges to get into, state-by-state (including the District of Columbia, but not including Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, or Wyoming due to a lack of information available for the study).

Tatiana Ayazo/ Rd.com

1. Alabama – University of Alabama
2. Arizona – Arizona Christian University
3. Arkansas – University of Arkansas
4. California – California Institute of Technology
5. Colorado – Colorado College
6. Connecticut – Yale University
7. D.C. – Georgetown University
8. Florida – University of Miami
9. Georgia – Emory University
10. Hawaii – Brigham Young University at Hawaii
11. Idaho – Northwest Nazarene University
12. Illinois – University of Chicago/Northwestern
13. Indiana – University of Notre Dame
14. Iowa – Grinnell College
15. Kansas – Sterling College-Kansas
16. Kentucky – Berea College
17. Louisiana – Tulane University
18. Maine – Bowdoin College
19. Maryland – Johns Hopkins University
20. Massachusetts – Harvard University
21. Michigan – University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
22. Minnesota – Carleton College
23. Mississippi – Mississippi Valley State University
24. Missouri – Washington University in St. Louis
25. Montana – Carroll College
26. Nebraska – Union College
27. New Hampshire – Dartmouth College
28. New Jersey – Princeton University
29. New Mexico – New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
30. New York – Columbia University
31. North Carolina – Duke University
32. North Dakota – University of Jamestown
33. Ohio – Kenyon College
34. Oklahoma – University of Tulsa
35. Oregon – Reed College
36. Pennsylvania – University of Pennsylvania
37. Rhode Island – Brown University
38. South Carolina – Clemson University
39. South Dakota – Augustana College
40. Tennessee – Vanderbilt University
41. Texas – Rice University
42. Utah – Brigham Young University
43. Vermont – Middlebury College
44. Virginia – Washington & Lee University
45. Washington – Whitman College
46. West Virginia – Concord University
47. Wisconsin – University of Wisconsin

High school students: To improve your chances at getting into selective schools, bear in mind the following social media tips for college applicants.