Editors' Note:
This chart was created to provide a baseline measure for the analysis in "The Selectivity Illusion," which explores the slipperiness of selectivity as a statistical index—how a school's selectivity is highly uneven, depending on who is applying and when, and how it is influenced by variables that have little or nothing to do with the quality of education.

A SELECTIVITY DATABASE
2002 Rank	Name of School (Year Founded)	2002 Admit Rate	2002 Early- Decision Admit Rate	2002 Male Admit Rate	2002 Female Admit Rate	2002 SAT 25th Percentile	2002 SAT 75th Percentile	2002 Top 10% H.S. Class	2001 Rank
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1861)	16%		12%	28%	1420	1560	99%	2
2	Princeton University (1746)	11%	31%	10%	11%	1380	1560	95%	3
3	California Institute of Technology (1891)	21%		19%	31%	1470	1580	99%	1
4	Yale University (1701)	13%	26%	13%	13%	1370	1560	95%	5
5	Harvard University (1636)	11%		11%	10%	1400	1570	90%	4
6	Stanford University (1891)	13%	23%	13%	13%	1350	1540	88%	6
7	Columbia University (1754)	12%	31%	13%	10%	1320	1510	84%	7
8	University of Pennsylvania (1740)	21%	39%	20%	22%	1330	1500	91%	9
9	Brown University (1764)	17%	27%	18%	16%	1290	1500	87%	8
10	Swarthmore College (1864)	24%	43%	28%	21%	1350	1530	90%	11
11	Washington University in St. Louis (1853)	24%		25%	22%	1310	1480	90%	13
12	Amherst College (1821)	18%	36%	18%	18%	1310	1540	82%	12
13	University of California at Berkeley (1868)	25%				1180	1440	98%	10
14	Duke University (1838)	25%	32%	25%	24%	1320	1510	89%	16
15	Dartmouth College (1769)	23%	33%	21%	24%	1330	1520	86%	14
16	Pomona College (1887)	23%	33%	27%	20%	1340	1510	84%	20
17	University of California at Los Angeles (1919)	24%		23%	25%	1140	1390	97%	18
18	Rice University (1912)	24%	32%	24%	24%	1320	1520	83%	15
19	Williams College (1793)	23%	39%	21%	24%	1320	1510	82%	19
20	Georgetown University (1789)	21%		22%	21%	1280	1450	80%	21
21	Cornell University (1865)	29%	43%	28%	30%	1280	1470	83%	22
22	Claremont McKenna College (1946)	28%	31%	29%	27%	1280	1460	82%	24
23	Harvey Mudd College (1955)	37%	50%	29%	61%	1390	1540	83%	17
24	The College of William and Mary (1693)	35%	54%	43%	30%	1250	1440	90%	33
25	Middlebury College (1800)	27%	27%	29%	26%	1350	1490	74%	25
26	Northwestern University (1851)	33%	53%	34%	32%	1300	1480	82%	26
27	Emory University (1836)	42%	61%	41%	43%	1300	1460	90%	27
28	Washington and Lee University (1749)	31%	55%	32%	30%	1280	1440	80%	37
29	Haverford College (1833)	32%	55%	33%	32%	1280	1460	80%	29
30	University of California at San Diego (1959)	41%				1170	1370	97%	28
31	University of Notre Dame (1842)	34%		34%	34%	1270	1450	82%	30
32	Bowdoin College (1794)	25%	28%	23%	26%	1280	1450	72%	23
33	University of Southern California (1880)	30%		31%	30%	1240	1420	80%	32
34	Barnard College (1889)	34%	45%		34%	1250	1410	84%	35
35	Wesleyan University (1831)	28%	44%	30%	27%	1290	1470	73%	31
36	Tufts University (1852)	27%	43%	28%	26%	1250	1430	72%	41
37	Davidson College (1837)	34%	58%	35%	34%	1250	1440	79%	43
38	University of Virginia (1819)	39%	40%	39%	39%	1220	1420	84%	38
39	University of Chicago (1891)	42%				1310	1500	78%	40
40	New York University (1831)	28%	39%	27%	29%	1250	1430	70%	39
41	Johns Hopkins University (1876)	35%	60%			1280	1490	72%	34
42	Carleton College (1866)	35%	55%	36%	34%	1280	1460	70%	45
43	Carnegie Mellon University (1900)	38%	49%	33%	47%	1270	1470	72%	36
44	United States Air Force Academy (1954)	17%		18%	14%	1210	1380	57%	44
45	Vassar College (1861)	31%	50%	39%	28%	1270	1430	65%	50
46	Bates College (1855)	28%	38%	29%	27%	1260	1430	62%	55
47	United States Coast Guard Academy (1876)	8%		8%	8%	1190	1350	48%	n/a
48	United States Naval Academy (1845)	12%		12%	10%	1090	1310	57%	42
49	Boston College (1863)	34%		35%	32%	1220	1400	69%	49
50	Colgate University (1819)	34%	49%	31%	36%	1240	1400	68%	57

Note: These rankings rely solely on three equally-weighted variables. Admission rate: each school's admission rate was subtracted from 1 and then multiplied by 100/3. SAT scores: 25th and 75th percentile SAT scores of matriculating freshmen were added together, and 800 was then subtracted to account for the test's minimum score of 400 out of 1600 points. The result was divided by 2400 to yield a value between 0 and 1, which was then multiplied by 100/3. High school class rank: the percentage of matriculating freshmen who placed in the top 10 percent of their high school classes was multiplied by 100/3. The three resulting values were then added together, and the schools were ranked according to composite score. The pool included U.S. doctoral universities, liberal-arts colleges, and service academies.

Copyright ©2003 The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.