The Complete Ranking Of America's 501 Smartest Colleges

Jonathan Wai,Max NisenSep 19, 2013, 20:18 IST

Below is the complete ranking of the smartest colleges in America, based on 501 schools with available data. They are ranked by average SAT scores using the methodology described here. The national and liberal arts rankings come from US News, as does the test score data.

On the following list, a (2) next to the school's name indicates that some or all students aren't required to supply scores; a (3) indicates that the school did not supply all students it has scores for, or did not tell US News if it had; a (4) indicates that the data is from a previous year, rather than from the most recent year; and a (9) indicates that the school may not require scores from all applicants and that it may not have submitted data for all students. "RNP" means the school's ranking is not published.

1	California Institute of Technology	1535	10
2	Princeton University	1500	1
2	Harvard University	1500	2
2	Yale University	1500	3
5	University of Chicago	1495	5
5	Harvey Mudd College	1495		16
7	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	1490	7
7	Washington University in St. Louis	1490	14
9	Columbia University	1480	4
10	Stanford University	1475	5
11	Northwestern University	1470	12
12	Vanderbilt University	1465	17
13	Duke University	1455	7
13	Dartmouth College	1455	10
15	Swarthmore College	1450		3
16	University of Pennsylvania	1445	7
16	Rice University	1445	18
16	University of Notre Dame	1445	18
16	Williams College	1445		1
16	Pomona College	1445		4
21	Tufts University	1435	28
21	Amherst College	1435		2
23	Bowdoin College	1430		4
23	Carleton College	1430		7
25	Brown University	1425	14
26	Carnegie Mellon University	1420	23
27	Cornell University	1415	16
27	Haverford College	1415		9
29	Johns Hopkins University	1410	12
29	Claremont McKenna College	1410		9
31	Georgetown University	1405	20
32	Vassar College	1400		13
33	Hamilton College	1390		14
33	Washington and Lee University	1390		14
33	Grinnell College	1390		17
33	Wesleyan University	1390		17
37	Wellesley College	1385		7
37	Reed College (4)	1385		74
39	University of Southern California	1375	23
39	Middlebury College	1375		4
41	Case Western Reserve University	1370	37
41	Northeastern University	1370	49
41	Macalester College	1370		24
44	Emory University	1365	20
44	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	1365	41
46	University of Virginia	1360	23
46	Georgia Institute of Technology	1360	36
46	Tulane University (3)	1360	52
46	Colgate University	1360		20
46	Oberlin College	1360		25
46	United States Air Force Academy	1360		25
52	University of California-Berkeley	1355	20
52	Boston College	1355	31
52	College of William and Mary	1355	32
55	New York University	1350	32
55	Davidson College	1350		9
57	Scripps College	1345		25
57	Barnard College	1345		32
59	Bates College (2)	1344		22
60	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	1340	28
60	Brandeis University	1340	32
60	University of Rochester (2)	1340	32
60	Colorado College (2)	1340		31
64	Colby College (2)	1335		22
65	Wake Forest University (2)	1330	23
65	Whitman College	1330		41
67	University of Miami	1325	47
67	Kenyon College	1325		32
69	Connecticut College (2)	1323		45
70	Smith College (2)	1320		20
70	Mout Holyoke College (2)	1320		38
70	Wheaton College	1320		57
73	University of California-Los Angeles	1315	23
73	Bard College (2)	1315		38
75	Polytechnic Institute of New York University	1310	128
75	University of Richmond	1310		25
75	Bryn Mawr College	1310		30
75	St. John's College	1310		123
79	Franklin and Marshall College (2)	1307		45
80	Hendrix College	1305		82
80	Hillsdale College	1305		82
82	Binghamton University-SUNY (3)	1303	97
83	University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill	1300	30
83	Lehigh University	1300	41
83	University of Maryland-College Park	1300	62
83	Stevens Institute of Technology	1300	82
83	Colorado School of Mines	1300	91
83	College of the Holy Cross (2)	1300		25
83	Occidental College	1300		41
83	Denison University (9)	1300		50
83	New College of Florida	1300		89
92	George Washington University	1295	52
92	Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2)	1295	62
92	Bucknell University	1295		32
92	Union College (2)	1295		41
96	Lafayette College	1290		36
96	Trinity College	1290		36
98	Boston University	1285	41
98	University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign	1285	41
98	Brigham Young University-Provo	1285	62
98	Dickinson College (2)	1285		45
98	Centre College	1285		49
98	Gettysburg College (2)	1285		50
98	St. Olaf College	1285		52
98	Rhodes College	1285		54
98	Knox College (2)	1285		82
107	University of California-San Diego	1280	39
107	Southern Methodist University	1280	60
107	Pitzer College (2)	1280		35
107	Lewis & Clark College (2)	1280		74
107	Bennington College (2)	1280		100
112	University of Texas-Dallas	1275	142
113	United States Military Academy (3)	1270		17
113	Thomas Aquinas College	1270		61
115	University of Wisconsin-Madison	1265	41
115	University of Florida	1265	49
115	Ohio State University-Columbus	1265	52
115	University of Tulsa	1265	86
115	Missouri University of Science & Technology	1265	128
115	United States Naval Academy	1265		12
115	Lawrence University (2)	1265		59
115	Kalamazoo College	1265		61
123	American University	1260	75
123	Sewanee-University of the South (2)	1260		38
123	College of the Atlantic (2)	1260		93
126	University of Texas-Austin	1255	52
126	University of Pittsburgh	1255	62
126	Wofford College	1255		65
129	Fordham University	1254	57
130	University of Puget Sound	1249		76
131	Clemson University	1245	62
131	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	1245	69
131	Texas Christian University	1245	82
131	University of Denver	1245	91
131	St. Louis University	1245	101
131	College of Wooster	1245		65
131	Illinois Wesleyan University	1245		65
131	Gustavus Adolphus College (2)	1245		76
131	Hampshire College (2)	1245		110
140	Muhlenberg College (2)	1240		65
141	University of Georgia	1235	60
141	Stony Brook University-SUNY	1235	82
143	University of California-Santa Barbara	1230	41
143	University of Connecticut	1230	57
143	Skidmore College	1230		45
143	Willamette University	1230		61
143	Austin College	1230		82
148	Pepperdine University	1228	57
149	Grove City College	1226		141
150	University of Washington (3)	1225	52
150	Auburn University	1225	91
150	Flordia State University	1225	91
150	Loyola University Chicago	1225	101
150	Illinois Institute of Technology	1225	109
150	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	1225	158
150	DePauw University	1225		54
150	Beloit College	1225		59
150	Transylvania University	1225		76
150	Cornell College	1225		97
150	Calvin College (2)	1225		100
161	Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2)	1223		61
162	Yeshiva University	1220	47
162	University of San Diego	1220	91
162	Drexel University	1220	97
162	St. Lawrence University (2)	1220		56
162	Earlham College (2)	1220		65
162	Wheaton College (2)	1220		65
168	Virginia Tech	1215	69
168	North Carolina State University-Raleigh	1215	101
168	St. Mary's College of Maryland	1215		89
171	University of California-Davis	1210	39
171	Soka University of America	1210		41
171	Furman University (2)	1210		52
174	Baylor University	1205	75
174	Marquette University	1205	75
174	Miami University-Oxford	1205	75
174	University of Delaware	1205	75
174	University of Colorado-Boulder	1205	86
174	University of Tennessee	1205	101
174	University of Dayton	1205	112
174	University of the Pacific	1205	112
174	Michigan Technological University	1205	117
183	Allegheny College	1200		82
184	Pennsylvania State University-University Park	1195	37
184	Rutgers, the State University of new Jersey-New Brunswick	1195	69
184	Texas A&M University-College Station (3)	1195	69
184	University of South Carolina	1195	112
184	Southwestern University	1195		65
184	Ursinus College (2)	1195		82
184	Westmont College	1195		94
184	University of North Carolina-Asheville	1195		146
192	University of Vermont	1190	82
192	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	1190	91
194	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry	1185	86
194	University of Alabama	1185	86
194	University of Oklahoma	1185	101
194	Millsaps College	1185		82
194	College of St. Benedict	1185		94
194	Hope College	1185		100
194	Birmingham-Southern College	1185		115
201	Purdue University-West Lafayette	1180	68
201	University of Central Florida	1180	170
203	Clark University (2)	1170	75
203	University of South Florida	1170	170
205	Juniata College (2)	1168		100
206	Michigan State University	1165	73
206	Indiana University-Bloomington	1165	75
206	University of Missouri	1165	97
206	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	1165	101
206	University of St. Thomas	1165	112
206	University of Kentucky	1165	119
206	Clarkson University	1165	121
206	DePaul University (2)	1165	121
206	University of Arkansas	1165	128
206	Hofstra University (2)	1165	135
206	Louisiana State University	1165	135
206	University of Alabama-Huntsville	1165	181
206	St. John's University	1165		76
206	St. Mary's College	1165		76
206	Luther College	1165		94
206	Augustana College (9)	1165		100
206	Ohio Wesleyan University	1165		100
206	Lake Forest College (2)	1165		110
206	Coe College	1165		120
206	Wittenberg University (2)	1165		123
206	Nebraska Wesleyan University	1165		146
206	University of Minnesota-Morris	1165		154
206	Centenary College of Louisiana (3)	1165		167
229	Syracuse University	1160	62
229	Agnes Scott College (2)	1160		89
229	Washington College	1160		107
229	Marymount Manhattan College	1160		RNP
233	Wabash College	1158		57
234	Gordon College (3)	1152		138
235	University at Buffalo-SUNY	1150	109
235	George Mason University (2)	1150	141
235	St. Michael's College (2)	1150		89
235	Stonehill College (2)	1150		115
235	Houghton College	1150		141
240	University of California-Irvine	1145	49
240	University of Iowa (3)	1145	73
240	Iowa State University	1145	101
240	University of Kansas	1145	101
240	University of San Francisco	1145	117
240	Oklahoma State University	1145	142
240	Maryville University of St. Louis	1145	161
240	University of Louisville	1145	161
240	Florida Institute of Technology (3)	1145	167
240	Virginia Military Institute	1145		65
240	Berry College	1145		126
240	William Jewell College (2)	1145		146
252	New Jersey Institute of Technology	1140	150
252	Florida International University	1140	RNP
254	Washington and Jefferson College (2)	1135		97
254	Oglethorpe University	1135		165
256	King's College	1133		RNP
257	University of Houston	1130	190
258	Colorado State University	1125	121
258	University of Cincinnati	1125	135
258	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	1125	158
258	University of Wyoming	1125	161
258	University of Missouri-St. Louis	1125	RNP
258	Berea College	1125		76
258	Albion College	1125		100
258	Goucher College (2)	1125		110
258	St. Norbert College	1125		134
258	Concordia College-Moorhead	1125		138
258	Wells College (4)	1125		141
258	Carthage College	1125		167
258	College of Idaho	1125		167
258	Lyon College	1125		167
258	Guilford College (2)	1125		173
258	Ouachita Baptist University	1125		173
274	Duquesne University	1120	121
274	St. Anselm College (2)	1120		120
274	Siena College	1120		126
274	Eckerd College	1120		141
274	Hartwick College (2)	1120		161
279	Hampden-Sydney College	1118		97
280	Catholic University of America	1115	121
280	Adelphi University (9)	1115	152
280	Texas Tech University	1115	161
280	Susquehanna University (2)	1115		115
280	Goshen College (3)	1115		141
285	New School (2)	1113	135
286	Temple University (3)	1110	121
286	Arizona State University (2)	1110	142
286	Biola University	1110	177
286	Georgia Southern University	1110	RNP
286	Salem College	1110		156
286	Warren Wilson College (3)	1110		167
292	University of Oregon (3)	1108	109
293	University of Arizona (2)	1107	119
294	University of Utah	1105	121
294	Kansas State University (2)	1105	135
294	University of Mississippi (2)	1105	150
294	University of Alabama-Birmingham	1105	152
294	Virginia Commonwealth University	1105	167
294	Louisiana Tech University	1105	190
294	Montana State University	1105	201
294	Hanover College	1105		115
294	Ripon College	1105		120
294	McDaniel College (3)	1105		126
294	Westminster College	1105		146
294	Simpson College (3)	1105		154
294	Northland College	1105		180
307	University of California-Santa Cruz	1100	86
307	Seton Hall University	1100	128
307	University at Albany-SUNY	1100	128
307	Oregon State University	1100	142
307	Hollins University	1100		110
312	University of New Hampshire	1095	97
312	Azusa Pacific University	1095	173
312	University of North Texas (3)	1095	RNP
312	Drew University (2)	1095		107
312	Randolph College	1095		134
317	University of California-Riverside	1090	112
317	University of Illinois-Chicago	1090	128
317	Ohio University	1090	135
317	Howard University (4)	1090	142
317	Illinois State University (3)	1090	152
317	San Diego State University	1090	152
317	St. John's University	1090	152
317	Pace University (3)	1090	173
317	University of North Dakota	1090	173
317	University of South Dakota (3)	1090	190
317	University of Montana	1090	201
317	Alma College	1090		126
317	Central College	1090		134
317	Randolph-Macon College (3)	1090		134
317	Georgetown College	1090		146
317	Wartburg College (3)	1090		146
317	Doane College	1090		156
317	Wisconsin Lutheran College	1090		RNP
335	Mississippi State University	1085	142
335	University of Rhode Island	1085	152
335	University of Hawaii-Manoa	1085	158
335	University of Maine	1085	167
335	Utah State University	1085	190
335	University of Missouri-Kansas City (3)	1085	201
335	Trinity International University (3)	1085	RNP
335	Roanoke College	1085		126
335	Ave Maria University (2)	1085		RNP
335	Bethany Lutheran College	1085		RNP
345	University of Texas-Arlington	1080	RNP
345	Linfield College	1080		123
345	Purchase College-SUNY (3)	1080		156
348	Presbyterian College	1075		126
349	University of Idaho	1070	161
349	Andrews University	1070	181
349	North Dakota State University (3)	1070	190
349	University of Colorado-Denver (3)	1070	190
349	University of North Carolina-Charlotte	1070	201
349	Georgia State University	1070	RNP
349	Oakland University (2)	1070	RNP
349	University of Louisiana-Lafayette	1070	RNP
349	Wichita State University (2)	1070	RNP
349	Westminster College	1070		115
349	Whittier College (9)	1070		126
349	Illinois College (2)	1070		156
349	Maryville College	1070		176
349	Green Mountain College (2)	1070		RNP
363	St. John Fisher College	1065	142
363	University of Nevada-Reno	1065	181
363	University of Massachusetts-Boston (3)	1065	RNP
363	Burlington College (2)	1065		RNP
367	Ball State University (2)	1060	181
367	Florida Atlantic University	1060	RNP
367	Sweet Briar College	1060		110
370	Albright College (9)	1058		176
371	Northern Arizona University (2)	1055	RNP
371	Nova Southeastern University	1055	RNP
371	St. Vincent College	1055		146
374	Washington State University	1050	128
374	Central Michigan University	1050	190
374	Kent State University	1050	201
374	South Dakota State University	1050	201
374	Trevecca Nazarene University	1050	RNP
374	University of Memphis	1050	RNP
374	University of Nebraska-Omaha	1050	RNP
374	University of New Orleans	1050	RNP
374	University of South Alabama (2)	1050	RNP
374	University of Texas-San Antonio	1050	RNP
374	University of West Florida	1050	RNP
374	Hiram College	1050		156
374	University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma	1050		RNP
387	East Carolina University	1045	181
387	Principia College	1045		107
387	Moravian College (2)	1045		138
390	Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey-Newark	1042	142
391	Lycoming College (2)	1040		161
391	Eastern Mennonite University	1040		180
391	Bridgewater College	1040		RNP
394	West Virginia University	1035	170
394	Portland State University (3)	1035	RNP
396	Spelman College	1033		65
397	University of La Verne	1030	161
397	St. Mary's University of Minnesota	1030	173
397	Northern Illinois University	1030	177
397	University of New Mexico	1030	181
397	Western Michigan University	1030	181
397	Edgewood College	1030	190
397	Benedictine University (3)	1030	RNP
397	East Tennessee State University	1030	RNP
397	University of Arkansas-Little Rock (9)	1030	RNP
397	University of Northern Colorado (2)	1030	RNP
397	University of Southern Mississippi	1030	RNP
397	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	1030	RNP
397	Wayne State University	1030	RNP
397	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (3)	1030		176
397	Erskine College (4)	1030		180
397	Western State Colorado University (3)	1030		RNP
413	University of North Carolina-Greensboro	1025	190
413	Morehouse College	1025		126
415	Old Dominion University	1020	RNP
416	Widener University	1015	181
416	Regent University (3)	1015	RNP
416	Pacific Union College	1015		RNP
419	Bowling Green State University	1010	181
419	Cardinal Stritch University (2)	1010	RNP
419	Cleveland State University (3)	1010	RNP
419	Middle Tennessee State University	1010	RNP
419	University of Alaska-Fairbanks	1010	RNP
419	University of Toledo	1010	RNP
419	Clearwater Christian College	1010		RNP
419	Fort Lewis College	1010		RNP
427	Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis	1005	RNP
427	Sam Houston State University	1005	RNP
427	Simpson University (3)	1005		RNP
430	Virginia Wesleyan College (2)	1000		176
431	Ashland University (4)	995	RNP
431	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	995	RNP
431	Emory and Henry College (3)	995		173
431	SUNY College-Old Westbury (3)	995		RNP
435	Wesleyan College	993		161
436	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (3)	990	177
436	New Mexico State University	990	190
436	University of Akron	990	RNP
436	Wright State University	990	RNP
436	Fisk University (4)	990		146
436	Monmouth College	990		165
436	American Jewish University (4)	990		167
436	Bryn Athyn College of the New Church	990		RNP
436	Castleton State College	990		RNP
436	Louisiana State University-Alexandria	990		RNP
436	Shorter University (4)	990		RNP
436	University of Wisconsin-Parkside (9)	990		RNP
448	Bay Path College (2)	985		RNP
449	Indiana University of Pennsylvania (3)	980	177
449	Texas A&M University-Commerce	980	RNP
449	Brevard College	980		RNP
452	Holy Cross College (3)	975		RNP
453	Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (3)	970	RNP
453	Xavier University of Louisiana (3)	970		161
453	Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (2)	970		RNP
453	University of Hawaii-Hilo (3)	970		RNP
457	Virginia Intermont College	969		RNP
458	Eastern Nazarene College	960		RNP
459	Judson College (4)	955		RNP
460	Florida A&M University	950	RNP
460	Spalding University (3)	950	RNP
460	Colorado Mesa University	950		RNP
460	Huston-Tillotson University (4)	950		RNP
460	Shawnee State University (2)	950		RNP
465	University of Virginia-Wise	945		RNP
466	Immaculata University	940	190
466	Barry University	940	RNP
468	Texas Woman's University (2)	930	RNP
468	University of Pikeville	930		RNP
468	West Virginia State University (3)	930		RNP
471	Indiana State University	920	RNP
471	University of Texas-El Paso (9)	920	RNP
473	Lamar University (3)	915	RNP
474	Our Lady of the Lake University	911	RNP
475	San Diego Christian College (9)	910		RNP
476	Texas A&M University-Kingsville (3)	908	RNP
477	University of Maine-Machias	905		RNP
477	William Peace University	905		RNP
479	Lynn University	900	RNP
479	North Carolina A&T State University	900	RNP
481	Bowie State University	895	RNP
482	Jackson State University (4)	890	RNP
483	Morgan State University	885	RNP
484	Clark Atlanta University (3)	880	RNP
484	Bethany College	880		RNP
484	Claflin University	880		RNP
487	Dillard University	870		RNP
488	Savannah State University (4)	850		RNP
488	Stillman College	850		RNP
490	Tennessee State University	845	RNP
490	Johnson C. Smith University	845		RNP
490	Tougaloo College	845		RNP
493	Bloomfield College	835		RNP
494	Kentucky State University	825		RNP
495	South Carolina State University	820	RNP
495	Texas Southern University	820	RNP
497	Pine Manor College (3)	775		RNP
498	Allen University (2)	760		RNP
498	Lane College	760		RNP
500	Bennett College (9)	750		RNP
501	Rust College	735		RNP

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The Complete Ranking Of America's 501 Smartest Colleges