The Inkwell
Rankings
Highest SAT scores

Colleges with the highest average SAT

Average SAT score of admitted students, as reported to the Department of Education. Top 100 of 1,007 qualifying colleges.

Highest-earning graduates Lowest net price Best graduation rate Most selective Highest SAT scores Lowest student debt Best first-year retention Pell Grant access Largest colleges Earnings vs. price Oldest colleges

#	College	State	Sector	Highest SAT scores	Net price	Grad.	Earnings
1	Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge	MA	Nonprofit	1,560	$14,815	96%	$152,553
2	University of ChicagoChicago	IL	Nonprofit	1,554	$16,776	95%	$103,872
3	Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York	NY	Nonprofit	1,553	$15,370	95%	$109,430
4	Harvard UniversityCambridge	MA	Nonprofit	1,553	$19,148	97%	$121,957
5	Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore	MD	Nonprofit	1,553	$18,431	93%	$104,590
6	Princeton UniversityPrinceton	NJ	Nonprofit	1,553	$7,815	97%	$133,523
7	Rice UniversityHouston	TX	Nonprofit	1,553	$11,164	95%	$90,773
8	Stanford UniversityStanford	CA	Nonprofit	1,553	$12,307	92%	$125,340
9	University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia	PA	Nonprofit	1,553	$29,577	97%	$121,687
10	Vanderbilt UniversityNashville	TN	Nonprofit	1,549	$15,497	93%	$99,080
11	Duke UniversityDurham	NC	Nonprofit	1,548	$23,706	96%	$113,937
12	Brown UniversityProvidence	RI	Nonprofit	1,546	$26,976	96%	$99,974
13	Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh	PA	Nonprofit	1,546	$35,780	94%	$125,257
14	Harvey Mudd CollegeClaremont	CA	Nonprofit	1,545	$39,347	93%	$164,248
15	Cornell UniversityIthaca	NY	Nonprofit	1,535	$33,934	94%	$113,531
16	Dartmouth CollegeHanover	NH	Nonprofit	1,534	$26,707	95%	$111,162
17	Pomona CollegeClaremont	CA	Nonprofit	1,534	$18,978	92%	$84,281
18	Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore	PA	Nonprofit	1,534	$17,392	92%	$86,311
19	Yale UniversityNew Haven	CT	Nonprofit	1,534	$11,340	96%	$118,356
20	Amherst CollegeAmherst	MA	Nonprofit	1,533	$19,536	92%	$95,161
21	Northwestern UniversityEvanston	IL	Nonprofit	1,533	$34,420	96%	$104,255
22	Williams CollegeWilliamstown	MA	Nonprofit	1,533	$15,157	95%	$95,954
23	Washington University in St LouisSt. Louis	MO	Nonprofit	1,530	$13,360	93%	$91,497
24	Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont	CA	Nonprofit	1,527	$26,039	90%	$127,532
25	Barnard CollegeNew York	NY	Nonprofit	1,520	$28,930	92%	$98,280
26	Bowdoin CollegeBrunswick	ME	Nonprofit	1,520	$15,595	93%	$90,153
27	Emory UniversityAtlanta	GA	Nonprofit	1,520	$16,754	91%	$93,897
28	Franklin W Olin College of EngineeringNeedham	MA	Nonprofit	1,520	$17,057	96%	$138,832
29	New York UniversityNew York	NY	Nonprofit	1,520	$35,737	88%	$90,957
30	University of Notre DameNotre Dame	IN	Nonprofit	1,520	$25,339	95%	$113,124
31	Wellesley CollegeWellesley	MA	Nonprofit	1,520	$23,995	91%	$90,458
32	Carleton CollegeNorthfield	MN	Nonprofit	1,517	$25,295	89%	$82,742
33	Case Western Reserve UniversityCleveland	OH	Nonprofit	1,513	$44,622	87%	$89,865
34	Haverford CollegeHaverford	PA	Nonprofit	1,513	$31,075	89%	$76,397
35	Tufts UniversityMedford	MA	Nonprofit	1,513	$38,797	94%	$89,187
36	Colgate UniversityHamilton	NY	Nonprofit	1,508	$29,409	89%	$96,328
37	Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury	VT	Nonprofit	1,508	$32,102	92%	$85,077
38	Boston CollegeChestnut Hill	MA	Nonprofit	1,507	$38,930	90%	$112,178
39	Hamilton CollegeClinton	NY	Nonprofit	1,506	$25,793	90%	$84,956
40	Colby CollegeWaterville	ME	Nonprofit	1,501	$19,835	87%	$88,776
41	Wesleyan UniversityMiddletown	CT	Nonprofit	1,501	$23,014	90%	$86,811
42	Jewish Theological Seminary of AmericaNew York	NY	Nonprofit	1,500	$48,432	82%	$84,604
43	Smith CollegeNorthampton	MA	Nonprofit	1,500	$25,519	86%	$69,936
44	Washington and Lee UniversityLexington	VA	Nonprofit	1,498	$25,279	96%	$102,966
45	Northeastern UniversityBoston	MA	Nonprofit	1,497	$29,060	91%	$99,371
46	University of RichmondUniversity of Richmond	VA	Nonprofit	1,497	$34,256	86%	$92,362
47	Webb InstituteGlen Cove	NY	Nonprofit	1,496	$14,510	88%	—
48	University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles	CA	Nonprofit	1,495	$33,056	90%	$103,420
49	Vassar CollegePoughkeepsie	NY	Nonprofit	1,494	$36,924	89%	$75,532
50	Scripps CollegeClaremont	CA	Nonprofit	1,492	$29,998	84%	$84,025
51	University of RochesterRochester	NY	Nonprofit	1,488	$34,347	83%	$88,358
52	Georgetown UniversityWashington	DC	Nonprofit	1,487	$33,661	94%	$110,516
53	Grinnell CollegeGrinnell	IA	Nonprofit	1,486	$15,203	86%	$72,106
54	Boston UniversityBoston	MA	Nonprofit	1,480	$36,503	90%	$89,087
55	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main CampusAtlanta	GA	Public	1,480	$12,028	94%	$114,210
56	University of Virginia-Main CampusCharlottesville	VA	Public	1,480	$18,056	94%	$96,468
57	Wake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem	NC	Nonprofit	1,475	$28,165	90%	$104,443
58	Rhode Island School of DesignProvidence	RI	Nonprofit	1,473	$50,513	92%	$69,341
59	University of Maryland-College ParkCollege Park	MD	Public	1,473	$14,296	88%	$89,228
60	William & MaryWilliamsburg	VA	Public	1,473	$18,880	88%	$83,488
61	Northeastern University OaklandOakland	CA	Nonprofit	1,472	$30,622	—	$99,371
62	Davidson CollegeDavidson	NC	Nonprofit	1,469	$15,060	90%	$89,297
63	Bates CollegeLewiston	ME	Nonprofit	1,468	$27,390	88%	$98,373
64	University of Michigan-Ann ArborAnn Arbor	MI	Public	1,465	$14,362	93%	$92,832
65	Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley	MA	Nonprofit	1,463	$30,861	82%	$66,117
66	Brandeis UniversityWaltham	MA	Nonprofit	1,462	$30,606	81%	$85,519
67	Villanova UniversityVillanova	PA	Nonprofit	1,460	$41,536	93%	$115,382
68	Babson CollegeWellesley	MA	Nonprofit	1,457	$34,096	92%	$138,950
69	Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteTroy	NY	Nonprofit	1,456	$32,758	80%	$113,011
70	Occidental CollegeLos Angeles	CA	Nonprofit	1,452	$37,470	79%	$79,660
71	Tulane University of LouisianaNew Orleans	LA	Nonprofit	1,448	$40,693	87%	$68,226
72	Oberlin CollegeOberlin	OH	Nonprofit	1,447	$41,987	81%	$60,877
73	Stevens Institute of TechnologyHoboken	NJ	Nonprofit	1,446	$37,396	89%	$118,358
74	Lehigh UniversityBethlehem	PA	Nonprofit	1,440	$25,272	85%	$116,342
75	Macalester CollegeSaint Paul	MN	Nonprofit	1,440	$27,851	91%	$69,951
76	Simpson CollegeIndianola	IA	Nonprofit	1,440	$20,460	63%	$57,816
77	Soka University of AmericaAliso Viejo	CA	Nonprofit	1,440	$16,383	88%	$66,071
78	University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign	IL	Public	1,440	$13,042	86%	$87,599
79	University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill	NC	Public	1,439	$11,305	91%	$81,094
80	Reed CollegePortland	OR	Nonprofit	1,437	$32,800	74%	$64,977
81	George Washington UniversityWashington	DC	Nonprofit	1,433	$35,760	82%	$96,691
82	Connecticut CollegeNew London	CT	Nonprofit	1,432	$35,960	82%	$82,225
83	Kenyon CollegeGambier	OH	Nonprofit	1,429	$33,279	86%	$65,780
84	Southern Methodist UniversityDallas	TX	Nonprofit	1,428	$39,816	83%	$90,037
85	Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyTerre Haute	IN	Nonprofit	1,427	$43,360	74%	$107,683
86	University of Wisconsin-MadisonMadison	WI	Public	1,427	$16,600	90%	$80,330
87	Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara	CA	Nonprofit	1,426	$50,570	87%	$117,193
88	St. John's CollegeSanta Fe	NM	Nonprofit	1,426	$22,480	70%	$45,537
89	Yeshiva UniversityNew York	NY	Nonprofit	1,426	$49,210	87%	$77,098
90	Lafayette CollegeEaston	PA	Nonprofit	1,424	$35,879	85%	$102,336
91	University of Massachusetts-AmherstAmherst	MA	Public	1,423	$22,857	81%	$80,486
92	Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook	NY	Public	1,419	$18,902	77%	$83,232
93	Fordham UniversityBronx	NY	Nonprofit	1,418	$42,760	81%	$92,809
94	Trinity UniversitySan Antonio	TX	Nonprofit	1,416	$22,962	82%	$79,620
95	Binghamton UniversityVestal	NY	Public	1,415	$20,907	82%	$89,136
96	Hillsdale CollegeHillsdale	MI	Nonprofit	1,415	—	89%	—
97	Trinity CollegeHartford	CT	Nonprofit	1,415	$37,004	83%	$103,089
98	University of MiamiCoral Gables	FL	Nonprofit	1,415	$36,483	84%	$84,093
99	Colorado School of MinesGolden	CO	Public	1,412	$32,901	82%	$102,077
100	Bucknell UniversityLewisburg	PA	Nonprofit	1,410	$50,021	85%	$109,954

Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education · ties broken alphabetically