USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2008: Liberal Arts Colleges: Most Popular Colleges

Most Popular Colleges: Liberal Arts Colleges

So which colleges do students really want to go to? One way to find out is to look at a school’s yield, the percentage of applicants accepted by a university who end up enrolling at that institution in the fall. The figures in this table are from the fall 2006 entering class and show the admit yield and overall acceptance rate. If a school has a high yield (a large proportion of those admitted enroll), it means that the school is most likely very popular with a top reputation and that the students are highly motivated to go there. A very low yield means that the school could be a “safety” or second choice for many of those who apply. Colleges use yield as a key factor in determining how many students they need to admit each year.

U.S. News Rank	School	Acceptance Rate	Yield
22	United States Military Academy* (NY)	15%	83%
20	United States Naval Academy* (MD)	14%	81%
83	Thomas Aquinas College (CA)	65%	77%
75	Berea College (KY)	29%	73%
85	Principia College (IL)	89%	64%
59	Wheaton College (IL)	56%	49%
75	St. John's University (MN)	89%	48%
30	Barnard College (NY)	26%	47%
71	Virginia Military Institute*	57%	47%
1	Williams College (MA)	19%	47%
91	St. Mary's College (IN)	80%	45%
97	Hillsdale College (MI)	75%	44%
5	Middlebury College (VT)	22%	42%
7	Bowdoin College (ME)	22%	41%
97	Luther College (IA)	81%	41%
4	Wellesley College (MA)	36%	41%
7	Pomona College (CA)	18%	40%
3	Swarthmore College (PA)	19%	40%
83	Sweet Briar College (VA)	80%	40%
52	Wabash College (IN)	51%	40%
9	Davidson College (NC)	30%	39%
15	Washington and Lee University (VA)	27%	39%
2	Amherst College (MA)	19%	38%
24	Bryn Mawr College (PA)	44%	38%
11	Claremont McKenna College (CA)	22%	37%
71	Hendrix College (AR)	85%	37%
17	Smith College (MA)	53%	37%
11	Vassar College (NY)	30%	37%
37	Bard College (NY)	29%	36%
24	Bates College (ME)	32%	36%
5	Carleton College (MN)	32%	36%
10	Haverford College (PA)	26%	36%
97	Hope College (MI)	81%	36%
11	Wesleyan University (CT)	28%	36%
17	Hamilton College (NY)	33%	35%
97	Hollins University (VA)	84%	35%
28	Mount Holyoke College (MA)	53%	35%
54	St. Olaf College (MN)	65%	35%
22	Colby College (ME)	33%	34%
17	Colgate University (NY)	28%	34%
59	Illinois Wesleyan University	52%	34%
87	New College of Florida*	49%	34%
87	St. Mary's College of Maryland*	56%	34%
33	College of the Holy Cross (MA)	34%	33%
26	Colorado College	34%	33%
48	Gettysburg College (PA)	41%	33%
32	Kenyon College (OH)	33%	33%
58	St. Lawrence University (NY)	59%	33%
75	Austin College (TX)	76%	32%
37	Furman University (SC)	56%	32%
71	Muhlenberg College (PA)	44%	32%
20	Oberlin College (OH)	34%	32%
59	Wofford College (SC)	57%	32%
30	Bucknell University (PA)	33%	31%
97	Juniata College (PA)	65%	31%
67	Kalamazoo College (MI)	69%	31%
54	Reed College (OR)	40%	31%
40	University of Richmond (VA)	46%	31%
63	Agnes Scott College (GA)	47%	30%
44	Connecticut College	38%	30%
52	Denison University (OH)	39%	30%
91	Lyon College (AR)	69%	30%
87	Millsaps College (MS)	86%	30%
40	Sewanee—University of the South (TN)	71%	30%
40	Union College (NY)	43%	30%
11	Grinnell College (IA)	45%	29%
34	Lafayette College (PA)	37%	29%
56	Lawrence University (WI)	56%	29%
75	Spelman College (GA)	37%	29%
91	Augustana College (IL)	75%	28%
40	Franklin and Marshall College (PA)	46%	28%
15	Harvey Mudd College (CA)	30%	28%
97	Lake Forest College (IL)	63%	28%
91	Randolph College (VA)	89%	28%
87	Transylvania University (KY)	83%	28%
56	Wheaton College (MA)	41%	28%
37	Whitman College (WA)	47%	28%
44	Dickinson College (PA)	43%	27%
69	Earlham College (IN)	68%	27%
80	Knox College (IL)	74%	27%
26	Macalester College (MN)	39%	27%
59	Southwestern University (TX)	65%	27%
34	Trinity College (CT)	43%	27%
44	Centre College (KY)	60%	26%
63	Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY)	65%	26%
28	Scripps College (CA)	45%	26%
47	Skidmore College (NY)	39%	26%
85	Allegheny College (PA)	63%	25%
67	Beloit College (WI)	67%	25%
71	College of Wooster (OH)	80%	25%
97	Ohio Wesleyan University	63%	25%
97	Washington College (MD)	60%	25%
49	Rhodes College (TN)	49%	24%
97	Cornell College (IA)	62%	23%
91	Hanover College (IN)	64%	23%
75	Birmingham-Southern College (AL)	62%	22%
49	DePauw University (IN)	68%	22%
36	Occidental College (CA)	42%	21%
63	Willamette University (OR)	75%	21%
91	Goucher College (MD)	70%	20%
80	University of Puget Sound (WA)	65%	20%
69	Ursinus College (PA)	47%	20%
80	Lewis and Clark College (OR)	58%	19%
49	Pitzer College (CA)	37%	18%
63	Drew University (NJ)	64%	17%

Note: These are the Top 100 ranked schools in this category, sorted in descending order by their yield. * denotes a public school.

Already have the Premium Online Edition? Login Here

Education

USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2008

Most Popular Colleges: Liberal Arts Colleges

FIND STUDENT LOANS