A recent article in Forbes tackled the growing public scrutiny of Ivy League monopoly by spotlighting the “New Ivies,” 10 public universities and 10 private universities that are “turning out the smart, driven graduates craved by employers of all types.”
How did they come up with this list? Forbes identified schools with graduates in high demand from top employers based on specific criteria. They excluded schools with fewer than 4,000 students, the “Ancient Eight,” and four Ivy-plus schools: Stanford, MIT, Duke, and the University of Chicago. Military academies were not included in their analysis, nor were the University of California schools since they don’t consider test scores.
Back in May we introduced you to these “New Ivies” and now we’ll dig into the acceptance rate data at these increasingly popular schools:
New Ivies (Public):
- Binghamton University (New York)
- Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia)
- University of Florida
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- University of Maryland-College Park
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- University of Texas-Austin
- University of Virginia
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Wisconsin)
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New Ivies (Private):
- Boston College (Massachusetts)
- Carnegie Mellon University (Pennsylvania)
- Emory University (Georgia)
- Georgetown University (District of Columbia)
- Johns Hopkins University (Maryland)
- Northwestern University (Illinois)
- Rice University (Texas)
- University of Notre Dame (Indiana)
- University of Southern California
- Vanderbilt University (Tennessee)
NEW IVIES: CLASS OF 2028 ACCEPTANCE RATES
The University of Texas at Austin
As we covered in our “Public Ivy” acceptance rate roundup last week, UT Austin received almost 73,000 applications for the Class of 2028 — breaking another record for the UT system’s flagship university. Those applying to the remaining 25% of the first-year class saw an acceptance rate of 11%.
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, a part of the SUNY complex, received 53,654 applications to their Class of 2028, the highest number of applications received over the last 5 years. Accepting 20,308 of these led to an acceptance rate of 38%, down from the previous year’s 42% acceptance rate.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech, also considered a “Public Ivy,” saw an overall acceptance rate of 13.81%. In-state applicants enjoyed a much higher rate of 33% compared to out-of-state and international applicants, of which just 10% were accepted.
University of Maryland-College Park
The University of Maryland received 59,499 applications (highest in the last three years) to its Class of 2028 and accepted 26,750, leading to an admit rate of 45%. This percentage is up just slightly from last year’s acceptance rate of 44.6%.
University of Virginia
UVA’s impressive Class of 2028 saw an overall in-state acceptance rate of 25.5% and an overall out-of-state acceptance rate of 13%.
Boston College
Boston College had an overall acceptance rate of 14.7% for the Class of 2028. While the university’s acceptance rate dropped slightly this year, the number of applicants also decreased compared to last year. Just two years ago, BC received a record 40,477 applicants for the Class of 2026, with a 17% acceptance rate. For the Class of 2028, more than 14% are first-generation college students, up from 12% in the Class of 2027.
Emory University
Emory had a 14.48% overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 with 3.39% of applicants accepted to both the Emory College of Arts and Sciences and Oxford College. 15.7% of admitted students are first-generation college attendees.
Georgetown University
12% of applicants to the Class of 2028 at Georgetown University were accepted. Recently, the university has faced calls for an end to legacy admissions. 9% of admitted students in the Class of 2024 were legacy students — the most recent year with publicly available data.
Johns Hopkins University
JHU had another extremely selective year, with just 5% of Regular Decision applicants admitted to the Class of 2028. Almost 90% of admitted students held jobs or internships at some point in high school and more than half were involved in athletics and/or the arts. Around 40% will enroll in the Whiting School of Engineering, while 60% will attend the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
Northwestern University
Located outside of Chicago, Northwestern admitted 7.5% of applicants this year. This year’s acceptance rate remains lower than pre-pandemic levels but is an increase from its record-low 7%. The university received more than 50,000 first-year applications this cycle.
Rice University
Marking a record-low acceptance rate, Rice admitted just 7.5% of applicants to the Class of 2028. There were 4.5% more applicants this year compared to the 2022-2023 cycle.
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame had an 11.1% overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2028. 11.9% of students who applied during Regular Decision were waitlisted. 14.9% of Restrictive Early Action applicants were admitted. Total applications increased 6% from last year and 56% of applicants did not submit standardized test scores. Around 33% of accepted students did not submit test scores.
University of Southern California
USC admitted 9.2% of applicants amid some turmoil regarding pro-Palestine protests on campus. The university received around 17% more applications compared to last year. 7.2% of Early Action applicants were admitted.
Vanderbilt University
Also a member of the “Southern Ivies,” Vanderbilt reported a 5.1% overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2028. Just 3.7% of students were admitted through Regular Decision. The combined early round acceptance rate was a more forgiving 15.2%.
NEW IVIES: ACCEPTANCE RATES NOT YET RELEASED
Several New Ivies have yet to release their admissions data for the class of 2028. The following schools have not yet disclosed their admissions statistics for the incoming class:
- University of Florida
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
- University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
- University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Carnegie Mellon University
TTA Takeaway: To boost your odds of acceptance to the New Ivies, focus on demonstrating a strong academic record with challenging coursework, coupled with meaningful extracurricular involvement. Your essays should authentically reflect your values and experiences, aligning them with the school’s unique culture. The “Why Us?” essay is especially important—this is your chance to make a case that you’re the perfect fit for their program and will enroll if admitted.
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.
Want To Read More About Selective Schools?
- Southern Ivies: Class of 2028 Acceptance Rates
- Standardized Testing Policies: A Shifting Landscape
- What Are the Little Ivies?
- Introducing the New Ivies
- Ivy Plus Acceptance Rates
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