If you are a STEM lover, you probably have already heard about Harvey Mudd. The small private college in Claremont, California, offers 10 engineering, science, and mathematics-based majors and a core humanities curriculum. While Harvey Mudd might have limited majors and just under 1000 undergrads, they are part of the Claremont Colleges consortium. Meaning Harvey Mudd students can take classes and more at Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, and Pitzer College. For the class of 2026,  they had about a 13% acceptance rate.

Bryn Mawr is a small liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia. The college is traditionally all-women, but now defines their student body a little more broadly, making room for non-binary and transgender individuals in their 1,409-strong student body. Bryn Mawr prioritizes student leadership, and students play a large role in directing and managing residential life and upholding academic integrity. The top three majors are psychology, English, and sociology, and outside of the classroom students build community through off-beat and beloved traditions such as Lantern Night, May Day, and leaving offerings to Athena. The acceptance rate is 31%.

The University of Richmond is a smedium-ish (that’s small and medium combined, btw) private liberal arts college located in Richmond, VA. Fans of schools like UVA, UNC, Tulane, Wake Forest, SMU, Emory, Rice, and other elite southern institutions often find themselves adding Richmond to their list as well. With one of the most famously generous financial aid departments in the country (60% of students receive aid), the University of Richmond has increased their accessibility to students around the world. Speaking of, they’re also test optional this year. For the Class of 2027, Richmond had a 23% acceptance rate, with a large majority (66%) of those students coming from the ED and EA pools.

Princeton is an Ivy League university that offers its 5,500 undergraduate students one of the best liberal arts educations in the world. The campus is brimming with talent, and there are 31 faculty and staff Nobel Prize winners and 24 alumni winners of the Nobel Prize. Two alumni have become President of the United States, and three current Supreme Court Justices are graduates. There are 400+ international internship opportunities for you to explore, but the college remains grounded in its New Jersey campus. Since the founding of Princeton in 1746, the university has only had 20 presidents, and this continuity has led to a culture that deeply values tradition, history, and legacy. Part of this legacy is an intense commitment to free speech and promoting complex dialog — even when it’s comfortable. Princeton has recently withheld admissions statistics, but The Daily Princetonian estimates the acceptance rate at a little under 6%.

The University of Rochester is a private university in (you guessed it) Rochester, New York. The small city of Rochester is on the Genesee River, which flows into the nearby Lake Ontario. The University is home to around 6,800 undergrads and over 200 majors. The university has a flexible curriculum, a free fifth year, and a surprisingly high international community. Last year they had a 39% acceptance rate.

Amherst is the platonic ideal of a New England liberal arts school. With a small student body and a 1,000-acre campus with views of mountains and forest in Amherst, Massachusetts, the school has a picturesque serenity and college-town charm. It welcomes the free spirit (its “open curriculum” means you have no core requirements), and there’s no shortage of academic options despite its size and rural location. As part of the Five College Consortium (including Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst), Amherst offers its students access to over 7,000 courses and over 10 million items within its inter-library system. That being said, Amherst’s incoming Class of 2027 only had a 9% acceptance rate, so getting in is a doozy.

Brandeis is a medium-sized research university that ranks among the best large research universities in America, but with a community that feels more like a liberal arts college. Established in 1948 by the American Jewish community to welcome people of all backgrounds and faiths, the founding values that undergird Brandeis are rooted in Jewish history and experience. Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, within screaming distance of Boston, Brandeis is home to 3,591 undergraduate students. The acceptance rate is 39%.     

Emory is a private research university in Georgia. Applying to Emory can be confusing for some students as they have two distinct academic pathways for freshmen: Emory College of Arts and Sciences and Oxford College. The College of Arts and Sciences is on the main Atlanta campus and has about 5,400 students. Oxford is about 38 miles away in the small town of Oxford, Georgia. Oxford only has about 950 students. Junior year, College and Oxford classes combine on the Atlanta Campus. Juniors also choose to finish their education at Emory College of Arts and Sciences, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, or apply to join the Goizueta Business School. Both are excellent programs and historically, about 50% of applicants have applied to both programs. If you choose both, there is a chance you will get into both and will have to decide between them. The College has an acceptance rate of about 11%, while Oxford has a 17% acceptance rate.

The University of Notre Dame is a leading research university in Notre Dame, Indiana. The university is rooted firmly in service, academic excellence, and faith — specifically the Catholic faith. It is one of the most well-respected Catholic universities in the world, and it’s high-caliber academically attracts students from a diversity of faith backgrounds and traditions. It’s also known for having one of the best on-campus collegiate experiences available. Ever heard of the fighting Irish? That’s Notre Dame. As a large research university, Notre Dame excels in nearly every subject and the students are evenly spread between the sciences, humanities, engineering, and business. The acceptance rate is 12%.

Notorious for its prime location in Uptown New Orleans and ranked in the top 2% of colleges for “very high research activity,” Tulane is a vibrant private research university and a leading destination for high-achieving students who want to let the good times roll (or laissez les bons temps rouler, for the Cajan purists among us). Cutting to the chase: Tulane may be perfectly situated in the Big Easy, but getting in is Big Hard. With just over 8,2000 full-time undergraduates, Tulane is medium in size but selective in admissions – the acceptance rate for the Class of 2027 was 13% overall, but over the last five years the acceptance rate has hovered around 10%.

The University of Michigan is a top state school ranked as one of the top three state schools in the nation by numerous lists. The school is at the top of its game, and so is the college town it is in. Ann Arbor, Michigan is widely considered the #1 small college town in America. The acceptance rate at Michigan is about 20%. That’s a misleading statistic, though, because the acceptance rate for in-state students is much higher than for out-of-state students. For out-of-state students, getting into Michigan is akin to getting into an Ivy League school, and it carries the cachet to match.

Let’s be honest… You had us at “Miami.” Like Ken, our job is just beach. No one can take that away from us! U Miami has over 10,000 full-time undergraduates and offers over 100 majors, with programs ranging from Marine Science and Immunology to Music Engineering Technology. And, they’re test optional through 2025. It is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida with a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio and 19% admission rate.

Bard is a small liberal arts school along the Hudson River about two hours north of New York City by train. Bard has 1800 undergraduate students and is known for strong arts programs, globally respected intellectual and artistic forums, and a creative approach to a liberal arts education. The school is also known for having an alternative model that puts students in control of their academic experience. As a student at Bard, you’ll work with a faculty member at the top of their field to create your own individualized educational program geared specifically to your areas of interest. Because of the alternative approach at Bard that requires students to be self-starters in control of their academic experience, the school is known to be quite self-selecting. The acceptance rate is about 60%.  

A private liberal arts school in Hartford, Connecticut, Trinity College is proud of its small, independent student body pursuing higher education in the state capital. With just over 2,000 undergraduates and a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, Trinity places a lot of emphasis on its location, identifying itself as the “preeminent liberal arts college in an urban setting.” Trinity has an acceptance rate of 38%.