Source: data_top20_50_cds.md
Research compiled from 2023-24 Common Data Sets and institutional admissions reports.
| School | Acceptance Rate | SAT 25th | SAT 75th | CDS URL | Data Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | 3.9% | 1510 | 1560 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| UPenn | 5.9% | 1500 | 1570 | CDS Portal | High |
| Brown | 5.5% | 1510 | 1560 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Dartmouth | 6.2% | 1450 | 1550 | CDS Portal | High |
| Cornell | 8.7% | 1510 | 1560 | CDS Portal | High |
| Duke | 5.9% | 1500 | 1570 | CDS Portal | High |
| Northwestern | 7.8% | 1500 | 1560 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| UChicago | 6.5% | 1510 | 1560 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Caltech | 2.6% | 1510 | 1570 | CDS Portal | High |
| Johns Hopkins | 7.5% | 1500 | 1560 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Vanderbilt | 5.6% | 1510 | 1560 | CDS Portal | High |
| Rice | 9.5% | 1510 | 1560 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Notre Dame | 12.4% | 1440 | 1540 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Georgetown | 12.3% | 1400 | 1540 | CDS Portal | High |
| Carnegie Mellon | 11.3% | 1500 | 1560 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| WashU | 12.0% | 1500 | 1570 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Emory | 11.4% | 1480 | 1540 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Tufts | 11.4% | 1480 | 1540 | CDS via Fact Book | Medium |
| Boston College | 16.7% | 1450 | 1520 | CDS Portal | High |
| UVA | 20.0% | 1400 | 1540 | CDS Portal | High |
| UCLA | 8.6% | N/A | N/A | CDS 2023-24 PDF | Medium |
| Michigan | 18.0% | 1340 | 1530 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Williams | 7.5% | 1500 | 1560 | CDS 2023-24 PDF | High |
| Amherst | 9.0% | 1500 | 1560 | CDS Portal | High |
| Middlebury | 10.0% | 1440 | 1550 | CDS Portal (2024-25) | Medium |
UCLA: Does not use SAT/ACT in admissions (UC system test-free policy). No SAT percentiles reported in CDS.
Test-optional schools: Most schools above were test-optional for 2023-24. SAT ranges reflect submitters only (typically 40-60% of enrolled students), creating upward bias.
Michigan: Wide SAT range (1340-1530) reflects large public university with in-state/out-of-state mix. Overall acceptance rate ~18%; in-state ~39%, out-of-state ~18%.
Georgetown: Requires SAT/ACT submission (not test-optional), so SAT data is more representative of the full admitted class.
| School | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Caltech | 2.6% | Smallest class size (~230) |
| Columbia | 3.9% | Highest Ivy selectivity |
| Brown | 5.5% | Test-optional |
| Vanderbilt | 5.6% | Rising selectivity trend |
| UPenn | 5.9% | Strong ED component |
| Duke | 5.9% | Strong ED component |
| School | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth | 6.2% | Small Ivy |
| UChicago | 6.5% | First to release CDS in 2024 |
| Johns Hopkins | 7.5% | STEM-focused |
| Williams | 7.5% | Top LAC |
| Northwestern | 7.8% | Suburban setting |
| UCLA | 8.6% | Test-free (UC system) |
| Cornell | 8.7% | Largest Ivy class |
| Amherst | 9.0% | Top LAC |
| Rice | 9.5% | Small research university |
| School | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Middlebury | 10.0% | Top LAC |
| Carnegie Mellon | 11.3% | STEM/CS focused |
| Emory | 11.4% | Rising selectivity |
| Tufts | 11.4% | International focus |
| WashU | 12.0% | Strong pre-med |
| Georgetown | 12.3% | Requires test scores |
| Notre Dame | 12.4% | Strong legacy/Catholic tradition |
| Boston College | 16.7% | Jesuit institution |
| Michigan | 18.0% | Large public flagship |
| UVA | 20.0% | Public; in-state/OOS split |
No colleges in this list officially publish feeder school matriculation data in their CDS or admissions reports. Feeder school data comes from external sources:
Harvard Crimson (2024 investigation): Identified 21 schools that collectively send ~1 in 11 accepted Harvard students. Top feeders include Phillips Exeter, Phillips Andover, Boston Latin, Stuyvesant. This is the most comprehensive public feeder data for any elite school.
National Student Clearinghouse: Publishes aggregate High School Benchmarks Report with high-school-to-college enrollment data. Does not break out by specific college destination at the individual school level publicly.
Michigan School Data Portal: Michigan publishes state-level data showing which colleges Michigan high school graduates attend (mischooldata.org).
College-Specific Sources:
Princeton's Class of 2028: ~60% from public high schools (published aggregate, not school-specific)
Yale's Class of 2027: ~60% from public high schools (published aggregate, not school-specific)
Brown: Publishes aggregate public/private split but not individual feeder schools
Third-Party Databases:
IvyLeagueFeeders.com: Crowdsourced data on feeder school placements
Crimson Education research: Lists of top 20 feeder schools to Ivies
Niche.com: School profiles sometimes include college matriculation data reported by schools
| School | Official Feeder Data | Public/Private Split | External Feeder Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| UPenn | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Brown | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Dartmouth | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Cornell | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Duke | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Northwestern | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| UChicago | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Caltech | No | Yes (CDS) | Very Limited |
| Johns Hopkins | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Vanderbilt | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Rice | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Notre Dame | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Georgetown | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Carnegie Mellon | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| WashU | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Emory | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Tufts | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| Boston College | No | Yes (CDS) | Limited |
| UVA | No | Yes (CDS) | Moderate (state data) |
| UCLA | No | Yes (CDS) | Moderate (UC system data) |
| Michigan | No | Yes (CDS) | Good (MI school data portal) |
| Williams | No | Yes (CDS) | Very Limited |
| Amherst | No | Yes (CDS) | Very Limited |
| Middlebury | No | Yes (CDS) | Very Limited |
No elite college publishes official feeder school lists. The best feeder data comes from:
Investigative journalism (Harvard Crimson 2024)
State education departments (Michigan, California UC system)
Crowdsourced platforms (IvyLeagueFeeders.com)
Individual high school college counseling reports (e.g., Naviance data shared by schools)
These data points are reliably available from CDS for all 25 schools:
Overall acceptance rate
Total applications received / admitted / enrolled
SAT/ACT score percentiles (except UCLA)
GPA distributions
Class rank distributions
Geographic diversity (in-state/out-of-state/international)
First-generation student percentage
Pell Grant recipient percentage
ED/EA acceptance rates: Some schools report ED numbers in CDS Section C (e.g., Carnegie Mellon ED: 12.5%), but many do not break out by round. This is critical for simulation round modeling.
Hook multipliers: No CDS reports explicit admit-rate boosts for athletes, legacies, or donors. Must be inferred from investigative reporting (e.g., Harvard trial data, Duke/Princeton legacy studies).
Yield rates: CDS provides enrolled/admitted ratios, but not by round or demographic segment.
Waitlist conversion rates: CDS Section C9 has waitlist data for some schools, but reporting is inconsistent.
Feeder school matriculation: No official data. See Feeder section above.
Legacy admit rates: Not published. Estimates from studies: ~30-40% at Ivies (vs. 3-10% overall).
Athlete admit rates: Not published. Estimates: recruited athletes admitted at 2-4x the base rate at most selective schools.
Donor/development case rates: Not published. Extremely limited public data.
Essay/EC scoring rubrics: Proprietary. Some insight from Harvard litigation discovery.
Regional/school-type quotas: Not published. Evidence of geographic balancing from CDS demographic data.