Ivy Plus Acceptance Rates

Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and UPenn, the “ancient eight” Ivy League institutions, are widely considered the nation’s most selective schools. However, despite the deep history and academic rigor that binds the Ivies together, other universities have reached similar levels of institutional respect and formed their own (unofficial) category — “Ivy Plus” or “Ivy+” schools.

IVY PLUS UNIVERSITIES

Stanford University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Duke University
John Hopkins University
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
University of Chicago (UChicago).

We’ve recently covered the Class of 2028 acceptance rates for MIT and Duke, which had overall acceptance rates of 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively. For a spotlight on the remaining Ivy Plus schools, read on!

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

Rounding out the East Coast Ivy Plus schools is America’s first research university, Johns Hopkins, which boasted a flat 5% acceptance rate for the Class of 2028. JHU, located in Baltimore, Maryland, is currently ranked #9 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of National Universities (tied with Brown and Northwestern University). JHU was one of the first colleges to abolish legacy admissions; they do not give preference to students who have alumni parents or grandparents.

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Moving to the Midwest we have UChicago in Illinois, currently ranked #12 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of National Universities (tied with Columbia and Cornell). UChicago doesn’t share its admissions data until the release of the Common Data Set, but the university had a historically low acceptance rate for the Class of 2027, just 4.8% and we expect a similar, if not lower percentage for the Class of 2028. Stay tuned!

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Meanwhile, in Palo Alto, California, Stanford was ranked #3 (tied with Harvard) in the 2024 U.S. News and World Report rankings of National Universities and #2 Best Undergraduate Engineering Program. Stanford once again did not release admissions data this cycle. Last year, 56,733 students applied and 2,099 were admitted for a rate of 3.9%. Stanford consistently has one of the lowest acceptance rates in the nation and a high yield rate of over 80%.

CALTECH

Moving to Pasadena in Southern California we have Caltech, which received around 13,000 total applications according to The California Tech. Caltech accepted 315 students with a target class size of 230. While the exact acceptance rate hasn’t been released, it is likely around 2.5%, a record low. Caltech is one of the most selective “test blind” schools in the nation, meaning they do not consider SAT or ACT scores.

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TTA Takeaway: It’s important to research a wide range of schools and unofficial groupings to guide your college search. Reading about clusters like the “Little Ivies,” “Southern Ivies,” “New Ivies” and the “Public Ivies,” can help you craft an application strategy. However, as these schools become even more competitive, it’s critical that a student’s grades and scores are “in range” and that they submit an application that highlights their strengths in the ways that matter most to admissions officers. When you work with our expert team, we guarantee a wise application strategy that will help you aim high and land at your “best fit” school!

At Top Tier Admissions, we are committed to making the college admissions process more transparent. Easy access to clear data helps families understand trends in college admissions to make more informed decisions. We’re collecting acceptance rate data at selective schools and providing insight and analysis of our own. For historical data, see our collection of Ivy League and Top College Acceptance Rates and Admissions Statistics, including the Class of 2028 Ivy League admissions data and admissions stats for a range of additional selective schools.

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Siena Swift

Creative Content Coordinator at Top Tier Admissions

Siena is a Pomona College graduate and award-winning student journalist with a passion for impactful communication and global education. After guiding prospective students as a tour guide at Pomona and spearheading sustainability initiatives across the Claremont Colleges, Siena honed her skills in social media strategy and event programming as an admissions office intern. Since graduating, she has worked with Top Tier Admissions, where she now serves as the Creative Content Coordinator. In this role, Siena manages social media strategies, creates engaging content, and supports webinars. Her work combines her love for communication, education, and creativity, all while contributing to the growth and engagement of the Top Tier Admissions community.