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 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 $63,581 and graduate tuition & fees is $54,344 for the academic year 2024-2025.
Across these elite Colleges with the Highest Graduation Rate, the average acceptance rate is 8.39% and the average SAT score is 1,531, 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 10 | 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 10 | 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 |
| 5 4 | University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VAPublic, 4-year | 96.00% 1.00% | $61,591 ($23,118) | 39.97% | 16.81% | 1,480 | 26,409 | 15 to 1 |
| 12 3 | Georgetown University Washington, DCPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% 1.00% | $68,089 | 46.68% | 12.91% | 1,490 | 20,031 | 11 to 1 |
| 12 3 | Northwestern University Evanston, ILPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% - | $68,322 | 55.31% | 7.69% | 1,540 | 23,856 | 6 to 1 |
| 12 8 | 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 |
| 12 3 | Cornell University Ithaca, NYPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% - | $69,314 | 63.91% | 8.76% | 1,540 | 26,793 | 9 to 1 |
| 12 3 | Rice University Houston, TXPrivate, 4-year | 95.00% - | $61,247 | 44.20% | 8.00% | 1,550 | 8,961 | 6 to 1 |
| 17 5 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GAPublic, 4-year | 94.00% 2.00% | $34,484 ($12,058) | 45.60% | 14.07% | 1,480 | 53,363 | 17 to 1 |
| 17 2 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MDPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% - | $64,730 | 47.02% | 6.44% | 1,550 | 30,210 | 6 to 1 |
| 17 3 | Tufts University Medford, MAPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% 1.00% | $70,704 | 45.51% | 11.49% | 1,510 | 13,599 | 10 to 1 |
| 17 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 |
| 17 5 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PAPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% 2.00% | $65,636 | 45.67% | 11.66% | 1,540 | 15,888 | 5 to 1 |
| 17 5 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TNPrivate, 4-year | 94.00% 2.00% | $67,498 | 61.23% | 5.86% | 1,540 | 13,575 | 8 to 1 |
| 23 1 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CAPublic, 4-year | 93.00% 1.00% | $47,265 ($15,377) | 45.99% | 10.98% | - | 45,882 | 18 to 1 |
| 23 1 | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CAPublic, 4-year | 93.00% 1.00% | $46,121 ($14,233) | 50.40% | 8.97% | - | 47,335 | 20 to 1 |
| 23 3 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MIPublic, 4-year | 93.00% - | $63,081 ($18,848) | 47.34% | 15.64% | 1,460 | 52,855 | 11 to 1 |
| Average | 95.20% | $63,581 ($16,727) | 59.05% | 8.39% | 1,531 | 23,770 | 9 to 1 |