2015 Best United States Research Universities

ScholarGeek scours the web to bring you the most up to date and relevant information available. One of our favorite sources for College and University ranking in the United States is College Choice. 

Their ranking of the 2015 National Research Universities are based exclusively on factors actual college freshmen said were most important to their college decision. According to the most recent nationwide survey published by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA , these factors include academic reputation, financial aid offerings, overall cost, and success of graduates in the post-college job market. Each of these factors were weighted equally in our ranking and data was derived from a variety of publicly available sources, including U.S. News & World Report , the National Center for Education Statistics , and PayScale.com .  

35) University of California San Diego

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UCSD is located in La Jolla, California, and home to more than 23,000 undergraduate students who pursue their choice of 125 degree programs among UCSD’s five disciplinary areas: arts and humanities, biological sciences, engineering, mathematics and physical sciences, and social sciences. The majority of students opt for degrees in the sciences, with nearly 40% pursuing concentrations in the social sciences.

34) University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

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UNC Chapel Hill is a co-education public research university that consistently ranks among the best schools in the country in any number of areas. Along with the College of William and Mary listed above, it is one of the original Public Ivy institutions. It offers over seventy bachelor’s degrees for its 28,000 undergraduate students, boasts an endowment of nearly $3 billion, and accepts approximately 27% of applicants.

33) Case Western Reserve University

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Case Western is a private research institution located in Cleveland, Ohio, with a modest undergraduate enrollment of 4,200 and a less modest endowment of $1.67 billion. It consists of eight schools, and members of its undergraduate population tends to have particular interests in medicine and engineering. Its admissions rate is 54%.

32) Brandeis University

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Brandeis, founded in 1948 in Boston, is one of the youngest schools on our list, but it is no less formidable for that. It is a private research university with a focus on the liberal arts and a smaller undergraduate community of 3,600. With an acceptance rate of 35%, it is more selective, and it has boasted the likes of Albert Einstein among its faculty.

31) Tufts University

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Also located in Boston, Tufts is a private research university known for its study abroad programs and emphasis on citizenship and public service. It is home to one of the country’s oldest and best-known schools of international relations, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. It is organized into ten schools and has an undergraduate population of approximately 5,000. For the most recent incoming class, Tufts accepted only 17% of its applicants, an all-time low.

30) Lehigh University

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Located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Lehigh University is a private university that often unfortunately escapes the rankings radar. It has a significant endowment of over $1 billion yet a smaller undergraduate population of less than 5,000 students. Of its four colleges, the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Economics, and the College of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences tends to be the most popular among students with over 40% of the majors electing to focus their degrees there.

29) University of Michigan Ann Arbor

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University of Michigan Ann Arbor, a publicly funded research university, is the oldest university in the state of Michigan. It is known for a well-rounded undergraduate curriculum that emphasizes the arts, sciences, and specific professional preparation. Although it has one of the largest undergraduate student bodies in the country at 43,000, it still only accepts 37% of its applicants, making it unusually selective for a public institution.

28) Boston College

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Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the Chestnut Hill area of Boston, Massachusetts. It is a mid-sized school with 9,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students that offers degrees through nine schools and colleges. It has an endowment of nearly $2 billion and an acceptance rate of 32%.

27) Carnegie Mellon University

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Carnegie Mellon University is a private research institution in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with seven colleges and schools: the Carnegie Institute of Technology (engineering), College of Fine Arts, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mellon College of Science, Tepper School of Business, H. John Heinz III College and the School of Computer Science. It has a rich tradition of education in the sciences. Carnegie Mellon is home to an equal number of undergraduate and graduate students (roughly 6,000 each), accepts 25% of applicants, and has a $1.37 billion endowment.

26) University of California Los Angeles

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Along with the UC Berkeley, UCLA is one of the two flagship universities of the University of California system and has the largest student population in the state of California with 29,000 undergraduate and 13,000 graduate students. As of fall 2014, it received more applications than any other school in the world with over 105,000 submissions. It offers over three hundred degree programs between its undergraduate and graduate programs. Its undergraduate acceptance rate is lower for a public institution at 18%.

25) University of Southern California

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Not part of the University of California system, USC is a private research university located in Los Angeles. It has a long tradition of business education but offers programs in all areas of study for undergraduates and graduate students alike. It is a sizable private institution with over 18,000 undergraduate students and more than 21,000 graduate students. It is a highly selective school, accepting 17% of applicants, and boasts a large endowment at nearly $4 billion.

24) Georgia Institute of Technology

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Georgia Tech is a public research university located in Atlanta, Georgia. Part of the state of Georgia’s university system, it is home to six colleges and over thirty departments, many of which focus on studies in the sciences, technology, engineering, and business. It has a tradition of excellence in these fields and has an acceptance rate of over 50%.

23) University of Virginia

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The University of Virginia, located in picturesque Charlottesville, Virginia, is a public research university founded by Thomas Jefferson. It is one of the most competitive and desirable public universities in the country, but admission is competitive. Over 90% of incoming classes are ranked in the top 10% of their classes, and the overall acceptance rate is 28%. With an endowment of over $5 billion and an undergraduate population of 14,000, it is among the wealthiest public institutions as well.

22) Washington University in St. Louis

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A private research university named after George Washington, Washington University is a highly selective institution that is home to equal parts undergraduate and graduate students (approximately 7,000 each). Washington has one of the broadest curricula in the country and distributes its degrees among seven schools. Its endowment is among the largest in the country at nearly $5.7 billion, and it accepts roughly 17% of applicants.

21) Emory University

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Emory is a private research institution in Atlanta, Georgia. With nine academic divisions (Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College, Goizueta Business School, Laney Graduate School, School of Law, School of Medicine, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Rollins School of Public Health, and the Candler School of Theology), it is well positioned to fulfill its mission “to create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity.” It also has a generally equal undergraduate and graduate populations (5,700 and 6,700, respectively), a sizable endowment of $6.3 billion, and is selective with a 26% acceptance rate.

20) University of California Berkeley

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UC Berkeley, along with UCLA (above), is the other of two flagship schools in the University of California system. It is the oldest school in the system and follows a more traditional liberal arts curriculum than some of the other California schools. It offers 106 bachelor’s degrees, and with an 18% acceptance rate, is also more selective than most of the other schools in the California system. It has a total student enrollment of approximately 36,000.

19) University of Chicago

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Located in historic Hyde Park in Chicago, Illinois, the University of Chicago is one of the countries most storied institutions. It is a private research university organized into an undergraduate college and numerous graduate committees and departments. It has an undergraduate population of approximately 5,000 and a large endowment at $6.7 billion. It is also one of the most selective on our list so far at an acceptance rate of less than 9%.

18) Georgetown University

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Georgetown, a private research university located in Washington, DC, is the oldest Jesuit institution in the country. It offers its 7,000 undergraduates forty-eight different majors in four different undergraduate schools. Students can also opt to fashion their own independent course of study. It accepts approximately 17% of its applicants.

17) Northwestern University

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Northwestern is a private research university located in Chicago, Illinois. It offers 124 undergraduate degrees through several different schools. It is an undergraduate-focused institution that has particular strengths in the arts and sciences, engineering, journalism, and education. Individual degree programs can vary widely from student to student and faculty to faculty. Its acceptance rate of approximately 14% makes it more selective than most, and its endowment of nearly $8 billion is among the largest in the country.

16) University of Notre Dame

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The University of Notre Dame, a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, Indiana, is home to five colleges and one professional school and is known for an emphasis on the liberal arts in its curriculum. Its over 8,000 undergraduates make up the majority of its nearly 12,000 students, and its endowment of $9 billion ensures that the community does not lack for resources. Its acceptance rate is approximately 24%.

15) Rice University

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Rice, located in Houston, Texas, is the most selective university in Texas at a rate of 14%. It is a private research institution with a particular focus on undergraduate education, and its boasts a small student to teacher ratio at 5:1, one of the lowest in the country. Although its undergraduate population is less than 4,000, its endowment is larger than most larger institutions at nearly $6 billion.

14) Brown University

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Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island, is our first Ivy League entry for this year. It is heavily focused on undergraduate education, with just over 6,000 undergraduates and a smaller graduate community of 2,000. It consists of the College, Graduate School, Alpert Medical School, the School of Engineering, and the Brown University School of Public Health. It has a rich tradition of education in the humanities and is one of the most selective institutions in the world at a rate of only 8.6%.

13) Princeton University

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Princeton is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Its undergraduate curriculum affords students a measure of independence uncommon of most undergraduate programs, allowing them to pursue a variety of electives, concentrations, and interdisciplinary programs. It is one of the most competitive schools in the world with an acceptance rate of 7%, and its endowment in excess of $18 billion is second only to Harvard’s.

12) Cornell University

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Cornell is an Ivy League school located in Ithaca, New York. It is larger, with a total student population in excess of 20,000. Its seven undergraduate colleges operate almost separately, a unique arrangement among schools in the United States. Its acceptance rate of 14% is higher for an Ivy League institution but is still highly selective.

11) Vanderbilt University

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Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt is a private research institution that offers over 70 majors to its 6,700 undergraduates in addition to opportunities to create their own in its four undergraduate schools: the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and Blair School of Music. It is highly selective with an acceptance rate of only 12% and operates with an endowment of $3.7 billion.

10) Johns Hopkins University

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Johns Hopkins is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland. It has two primary undergraduate divisions, the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering, and is renowned for its programs in medicine, engineering, and the sciences. Its graduate students vastly outnumber its undergraduates (14,000 and 6,000, respectively), but its undergraduate program consistently leads rankings. Its acceptance rate is approximately 17%, and as applications increase, it is becoming more selective as time goes on.

9) Duke University

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Duke is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, that offers 46 undergraduate majors through the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Pratt School of Engineering. It accepts approximately 10% of applicants, 90% of whom rank in the top 10% of their high school classes. It operates with a $6 billion endowment with another $1 billion from private endowment funds, and its undergraduate population is approximately 6,500.

8) University of Pennsylvania

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The University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League school located in Philadelphia. In addition to its broad array of academic programs, it is known for its commitment to involving students in public service. It also has an acceptance rate of approximately 10% and places a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary education. It has an undergraduate population of 10,000 and an endowment of $7.7 billion.

7) Dartmouth College

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Dartmouth College, another Ivy League school, places an emphasis on undergraduate education. Located in Hanover, New Hampshire, 4,000 of its approximately 6,000 students are undergraduates, making it the smallest of the Ivy League schools. Its acceptance rate is less than 10% and it operates with an endowment of $3.7 billion.

6) California Institute of Technology

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Cal Tech is a private research university in Pasadena, California. Its curriculum is devoted primarily to technology, engineering, and other applied sciences, and it is home to the smallest undergraduate community on our list at less than 1,000 students. This small community boasts an endowment of nearly $2 billion, however, and its acceptance rate is highly selective at less than 12%.

5) Yale University

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With Yale, the acceptance rates we have been examining begin to creep below the 8% mark to only 7%, placing it on par with Princeton. Yale is one of the oldest and most venerable higher education institutions in the world, boasts an endowment in excess of $20 billion, and yet keeps its undergraduate enrollment to approximately 5,000 students. Undergraduates at Yale occupy residential colleges and pursue a broad liberal arts curriculum.

4) Columbia University

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Columbia is an Ivy League school located in the heart of New York City, making it geographically unique among the other Ivies. Acceptance to Columbia is less than 7%, and its undergraduate students number in the 8,000s. (Its graduate population is considerably larger at over 18,000.) It has a strong tradition in education in the sciences as well as journalism and communications.

3) Stanford University

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Stanford is a private research institution located in Stanford, California. At more than 8,000 acres, its campus is one of the largest in the United States, and at $18.7 billion, its endowment is one of the largest also. It is home to approximately 7,000 undergraduates who made it past its extremely selective 5% admissions rate. Stanford comprises seven primary schools with particular strengths in engineering, business, and technology.

2) Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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MIT, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the world’s leading institution for education and research in the theoretical and applied sciences. Graduate students slightly outnumber undergraduates (6,500 to 4,000, respectively), but there is considerable cross-pollination between the two communities, making for a vibrant and invigorating intellectual culture. Its endowment sits at $11 billion and it accepts approximately 10% of applicants.

1) Harvard University

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Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, needs little introduction. The Ivy League leader is highly organized into eleven academic faculties and one institute, and it emphasizes broad training in the arts and sciences. Its graduate population remains around 7,000 students. Its acceptance rate of 5.9% in 2014 makes it the most selective on our list, and its endowment of $32.3 billion is without peer.