Harvard University has the highest graduation rate, which is the percentage of graduate candidates who complete their degree or certificate within 150 percent of normal time (for example, within 6 years for 4-years BS degree). Its graduatation rate was 98% last year.
Princeton University with 98% and Duke University with 97% of graduation rates followed it in the ranking of Private Colleges with the Highest Graduation Rate.
For the ranking, we exclude schools with fewer than 5,000 students.
The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $67,092 and graduate tuition & fees is $56,500 for the academic year 2024-2025.
Across these elite Private Colleges with the Highest Graduation Rate, the average acceptance rate is 8.43% and the average SAT score is 1,532, underscoring their extremely selective admissions process and high academic standards.
| School Name | Graduation Rate | Undergraduate Tuition & Fees | Yield | Acceptance Rate | SAT Score | Total Population | Students to Faculty Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 1 | Harvard University Cambridge, MAPrivate, 4-year | 98.00% 1.00% | $61,676 | 83.60% | 3.65% | 1,550 | 30,259 | 7 to 1 |
| 1 1 | Princeton University Princeton, NJPrivate, 4-year | 98.00% 1.00% | $62,688 | 75.48% | 4.62% | 1,550 | 9,137 | 5 to 1 |
| 3 6 | Duke University Durham, NCPrivate, 4-year | 97.00% 2.00% | $68,758 | 58.84% | 5.71% | 1,540 | 17,499 | 5 to 1 |
| 3 1 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PAPrivate, 4-year | 97.00% 1.00% | $68,686 | 67.98% | 5.40% | 1,550 | 29,109 | 8 to 1 |
| 5 1 | Yale University New Haven, CTPrivate, 4-year | 96.00% - | $67,250 | 69.78% | 3.87% | 1,540 | 15,564 | 5 to 1 |
| 5 9 | University of Chicago Chicago, ILPrivate, 4-year | 96.00% 2.00% | $69,324 | 88.29% | 4.48% | 1,550 | 18,566 | 5 to 1 |
| 5 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MAPrivate, 4-year | 96.00% - | $62,396 | 85.83% | 4.55% | 1,560 | 11,886 | 3 to 1 |
| 5 1 | Dartmouth College Hanover, NHPrivate, 4-year | 96.00% - | $68,019 | 69.12% | 5.40% | 1,540 | 6,938 | 7 to 1 |
| 5 9 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NYPrivate, 4-year | 96.00% 2.00% | $70,517 | 64.92% | 3.99% | 1,550 | 35,173 | 6 to 1 |
| 5 4 | Brown University Providence, RIPrivate, 4-year | 96.00% 1.00% | $71,312 | 65.16% | 5.39% | 1,540 | 11,956 | 6 to 1 |
| 11 3 | Georgetown University Washington, DCPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% 1.00% | $68,089 | 46.68% | 12.91% | 1,490 | 20,031 | 11 to 1 |
| 11 2 | Northwestern University Evanston, ILPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% - | $68,322 | 55.31% | 7.69% | 1,540 | 23,856 | 6 to 1 |
| 11 7 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, INPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% 1.00% | $65,025 | 61.71% | 11.27% | 1,520 | 13,042 | 8 to 1 |
| 11 2 | Cornell University Ithaca, NYPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% - | $69,314 | 63.91% | 8.76% | 1,540 | 26,793 | 9 to 1 |
| 11 2 | Rice University Houston, TXPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% - | $61,247 | 44.20% | 8.00% | 1,550 | 8,961 | 6 to 1 |
| 16 2 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MDPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% - | $64,730 | 47.02% | 6.44% | 1,550 | 30,210 | 6 to 1 |
| 16 3 | Tufts University Medford, MAPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% 1.00% | $70,704 | 45.51% | 11.49% | 1,510 | 13,599 | 10 to 1 |
| 16 2 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MOPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% - | $65,790 | 46.75% | 12.06% | 1,540 | 16,357 | 7 to 1 |
| 16 4 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PAPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% 2.00% | $65,636 | 45.67% | 11.66% | 1,540 | 15,888 | 5 to 1 |
| 16 4 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TNPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% 2.00% | $67,498 | 61.23% | 5.86% | 1,540 | 13,575 | 8 to 1 |
| 21 3 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CAPrivate, 4-year | 92.00% 1.00% | $71,647 | 43.34% | 9.81% | 1,500 | 46,566 | 9 to 1 |
| 21 1 | Villanova University Villanova, PAPrivate, 4-year | 92.00% - | $67,776 | 27.73% | 26.98% | 1,450 | 10,041 | 10 to 1 |
| 21 1 | Stanford University Stanford, CAPrivate, 4-year | 92.00% - | $65,910 | 81.91% | 3.61% | 1,550 | 18,625 | 6 to 1 |
| 24 - | Emory University Atlanta, GAPrivate, 4-year | 91.00% - | $64,280 | 40.37% | 10.65% | 1,520 | 15,175 | 10 to 1 |
| 24 2 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MAPrivate, 4-year | 91.00% 1.00% | $70,702 | 43.46% | 16.43% | 1,500 | 15,432 | 10 to 1 |
| Average | 94.76% | $67,092 | 59.35% | 8.43% | 1,532 | 18,970 | 7 to 1 |