20 Most Selective Colleges and Universities in the United States

(By Allen Grove, About.com Guide)

Here you'll find the 20 most selective colleges and universities in the U.S. :

20. Olin College (Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering)

* Acceptance Rate: 18% (2009 data)

* Location: Needham, Massachusetts

* Enrollment: 308

* School Type: Private Engineering College

19. University of Pennsylvania

* Acceptance Rate: 18% (2009 data)

* Location: West Philadelphia

* Enrollment: 24,107 (11,851 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private Comprehensive University (Ivy League)

18. United States Air Force Academy (USAFA)

* Acceptance Rate: 17% (2009 data)

* Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

* Enrollment: 4,537

* School Type: Undergraduate Military Academy

17. Swarthmore College

* Acceptance Rate: 17% (2009 data)

* Location: Outside of Philadelphia

* Enrollment: 1,490

* School Type: Private Liberal Arts and Sciences College

16. Amherst College

* Acceptance Rate: 16% (2009 data)

* Location: Western Massachusetts (Five-College Area)

* Enrollment: 1,697

* School Type: Private Liberal Arts and Sciences College

15. Claremont McKenna College

* Acceptance Rate: 16% (2009 data)

* Location: Claremont, California

* Enrollment: 1,212

* School Type: Private Liberal Arts and Sciences College

14. Pomona College

* Acceptance Rate: 16% (2009 data)

* Location: Claremont, California

* Enrollment: 1,532

* School Type: Private Liberal Arts and Sciences College

13. Caltech (California Institute of Technology)

* Acceptance Rate: 15% (2009 data)

* Location: Pasadena, California

* Enrollment: 2,126 (921 undergraduates)

* School Type: Small Private University with Engineering Focus

11. Dartmouth College

* Acceptance Rate: 13% (2009 data)

* Location: Hanover, New Hampshire

* Enrollment: 5,848 (4,147 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private Comprehensive University (Ivy League)

10. Brown University

* Acceptance Rate: 11% (2009 data)

* Location: Providence Rhode Island

* Enrollment: 8,318 (6,095 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private Comprehensive University (Ivy League)

9. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

* Acceptance Rate: 11% (2009 data)

* Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

* Enrollment: 10,299 (4,153 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private University with Engineering Focus

8. Columbia University

* Acceptance Rate: 11% (2008 data)

* Location: New York, New York

* Enrollment: 23,196 (7,495 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private Comprehensive University (Ivy League)

7. Annapolis (United States Naval Academy)

* Acceptance Rate: 10% (2009 data)

* Location: Annapolis, Maryland

* Enrollment: 4,488

* School Type: Undergraduate Military Academy

6. Princeton University

* Acceptance Rate: 10% (2009 data)

* Location: Princeton, New Jersey

* Enrollment: 7,330 (4,878 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private Comprehensive University (Ivy League)

5. College of the Ozarks

* Acceptance Rate: 9% (2009 data)

* Location: Point Lookout, Missouri

* Enrollment: 1,334

* School Type: Small Liberal Arts and Sciences Christian Work College

4. Yale University

* Acceptance Rate: 9% (2008 data)

* Location: New Haven, Connecticut

* Enrollment: 10,192 (5,277 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private Comprehensive University (Ivy League)

3. Stanford University

* Acceptance Rate: 8% (2009 data)

* Location: Stanford, California

* Enrollment: 17,833 (6,532 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private Comprehensive University

2. Cooper Union

* Acceptance Rate: 7% (2009 data)

* Location: New York, New York

* Enrollment: 972 (920 undergraduates)

* School Type: Small College with Engineering and Art Focus

1. Harvard University

* Acceptance Rate: 7% (2009 data)

* Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

* Enrollment: 26,496 (10,156 undergraduates)

* School Type: Private Comprehensive University (Ivy League)

Source : http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegerankings/tp/most-selective-colleges.htm