National Universities Where the Most Accepted Students Enroll
For students with an acceptance letter from Harvard University, the opportunity to attend the Ivy League school is often too tempting to pass up.
Of the 2,047 students admitted to Harvard, 81 percent chose to enroll in fall 2013, according to data submitted in an annual U.S. News survey.
Colleges typically aim high for their yield, the percentage of accepted students who elect to attend. Students may choose to enroll based on prestige, affordability or academic and social fit.
The average yield among the 261 ranked National Universities reporting data to U.S. News was 34.1 percent in fall 2013. National Universities are schools that offer a full range of programs for undergraduates, as well as master's and doctoral students, and are committed to research.
Find out which [National Liberal Arts Colleges enroll the most accepted students.]
While prestigious, highly ranked private universities certainly dominate the top of the list, state universities and religious schools reported high yields as well.
The University of Alaska--Fairbanks, whose rank is not published, yielded the highest percentage of admitted students among the public universities on the list, with a 73.1 percent yield rate.
Find the [highest and lowest in-state tuition in each state.]
Brigham Young University--Provo and Yeshiva University, with missions based in Mormonism and Judaism, respectively, had some of the greatest success attracting admitted students. BYU is tied at No. 62 in the rankings but came in second on the yield rate list, and Yeshiva is tied at No. 48 but came in at No. 7 in terms of yield.
Below are the fall 2013 yield rates for every National University that reported the statistic to U.S. News. The rate can be affected by a school's early decision or early action options, as some of those programs bind students to attend if accepted. The data reflect first-time, first-year, degree-seeking students only.
School (state) | Students accepted | Students who enrolled in fall 2013 | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
2,047 | 1,659 | 81% | |
5,645 | 4,427 | 78.4% | |
2,208 | 1,677 | 76% | |
1,221 | 892 | 73.1% | |
1,548 | 1,115 | 72% | |
2,031 | 1,359 | 66.9% | |
1,299 | 855 | 65.8% | |
1,963 | 1,285 | 65.5% | |
6,999 | 4,420 | 63.2% | |
3,830 | 2,421 | 63.2% | |
5,759 | 3,583 | 62.2% | |
2,311 | 1,416 | 61.3% | |
6,250 | 3,773 | 60.4% | |
2,654 | 1,543 | 58.1% | |
3,362 | 1,908 | 56.8% | |
3,507 | 1,889 | 53.9% | |
2,670 | 1,426 | 53.4% | |
5,044 | 2,693 | 53.4% | |
1,610 | 860 | 53.4% | |
3,936 | 2,070 | 52.6% | |
4,888 | 2,553 | 52.2% | |
6,222 | 3,223 | 51.8% | |
4,458 | 2,306 | 51.7% | |
6,799 | 3,518 | 51.7% | |
2,263 | 1,145 | 50.6% | |
12,618 | 6,373 | 50.5% | |
3,651 | 1,777 | 48.7% | |
8,243 | 3,946 | 47.9% | |
2,337 | 1,117 | 47.8% | |
10,962 | 5,237 | 47.8% | |
4,470 | 2,134 | 47.7% | |
6,888 | 3,276 | 47.6% | |
7,269 | 3,455 | 47.5% | |
15,335 | 7,249 | 47.3% | |
21,725 | 10,241 | 47.1% | |
3,397 | 1,594 | 46.9% | |
2,709 | 1,262 | 46.6% | |
8,411 | 3,872 | 46% | |
6,720 | 3,086 | 45.9% | |
12,002 | 5,501 | 45.8% | |
8,841 | 4,052 | 45.8% | |
3,801 | 1,729 | 45.5% | |
3,424 | 1,553 | 45.4% | |
4,142 | 1,878 | 45.3% | |
8,510 | 3,796 | 44.6% | |
4,598 | 2,041 | 44.4% | |
10,037 | 4,444 | 44.3% | |
7,347 | 3,256 | 44.3% | |
6,496 | 2,855 | 44% | |
412 | 180 | 43.7% | |
5,125 | 2,233 | 43.6% | |
4,863 | 2,117 | 43.5% | |
4,058 | 1,746 | 43% | |
584 | 249 | 42.6% | |
4,505 | 1,918 | 42.6% | |
8,671 | 3,689 | 42.5% | |
6,405 | 2,713 | 42.4% | |
8,464 | 3,582 | 42.3% | |
3,169 | 1,342 | 42.3% | |
3,344 | 1,410 | 42.2% | |
7,122 | 2,990 | 42% | |
5,909 | 2,482 | 42% | |
15,161 | 6,339 | 41.8% | |
17,465 | 7,171 | 41.1% | |
10,128 | 4,165 | 41.1% | |
10,435 | 4,276 | 41% | |
17,413 | 7,130 | 40.9% | |
14,975 | 6,089 | 40.7% | |
3,963 | 1,613 | 40.7% | |
4,255 | 1,727 | 40.6% | |
9,437 | 3,821 | 40.5% | |
8,728 | 3,517 | 40.3% | |
3,616 | 1,451 | 40.1% | |
618 | 248 | 40.1% | |
11,238 | 4,495 | 40% | |
6,126 | 2,452 | 40% | |
15,570 | 6,225 | 40% | |
3,328 | 1,327 | 39.9% | |
13,432 | 5,364 | 39.9% | |
7,938 | 3,156 | 39.8% | |
11,828 | 4,706 | 39.8% | |
1,656 | 651 | 39.3% | |
11,076 | 4,339 | 39.2% | |
15,572 | 6,068 | 39% | |
3,889 | 1,518 | 39% | |
11,680 | 4,449 | 38.1% | |
4,154 | 1,582 | 38.1% | |
2,581 | 978 | 37.9% | |
3,029 | 1,149 | 37.9% | |
3,469 | 1,312 | 37.8% | |
12,709 | 4,785 | 37.7% | |
7,834 | 2,942 | 37.6% | |
16,473 | 6,194 | 37.6% | |
16,679 | 6,253 | 37.5% | |
3,519 | 1,317 | 37.4% | |
10,204 | 3,812 | 37.4% | |
21,610 | 8,061 | 37.3% | |
777 | 288 | 37.1% | |
1,300 | 482 | 37.1% | |
2,919 | 1,078 | 36.9% | |
10,768 | 3,970 | 36.9% | |
7,265 | 2,673 | 36.8% | |
17,515 | 6,454 | 36.8% | |
5,289 | 1,939 | 36.7% | |
12,016 | 4,390 | 36.5% | |
9,860 | 3,588 | 36.4% | |
2,844 | 1,029 | 36.2% | |
16,803 | 6,048 | 36% | |
4,934 | 1,773 | 35.9% | |
13,713 | 4,913 | 35.8% | |
20,716 | 7,321 | 35.3% | |
14,829 | 5,207 | 35.1% | |
11,303 | 3,970 | 35.1% | |
18,230 | 6,402 | 35.1% | |
10,367 | 3,616 | 34.9% | |
16,448 | 5,697 | 34.6% | |
13,592 | 4,702 | 34.6% | |
8,967 | 3,087 | 34.4% | |
4,684 | 1,608 | 34.3% | |
5,869 | 2,005 | 34.2% | |
23,603 | 8,043 | 34.1% | |
11,715 | 4,000 | 34.1% | |
10,040 | 3,428 | 34.1% | |
12,219 | 4,163 | 34.1% | |
14,844 | 5,046 | 34% | |
957 | 323 | 33.8% | |
10,167 | 3,434 | 33.8% | |
1,214 | 409 | 33.7% | |
9,281 | 3,124 | 33.7% | |
18,684 | 6,272 | 33.6% | |
2,699 | 903 | 33.5% | |
20,546 | 6,881 | 33.5% | |
3,815 | 1,253 | 32.8% | |
1,899 | 622 | 32.8% | |
2,888 | 943 | 32.7% | |
12,293 | 4,020 | 32.7% | |
13,368 | 4,355 | 32.6% | |
6,281 | 2,050 | 32.6% | |
2,764 | 899 | 32.5% | |
7,933 | 2,569 | 32.4% | |
8,476 | 2,741 | 32.3% | |
1,465 | 470 | 32.1% | |
3,442 | 1,103 | 32% | |
13,914 | 4,443 | 31.9% | |
4,665 | 1,479 | 31.7% | |
5,173 | 1,630 | 31.5% | |
7,493 | 2,356 | 31.4% | |
3,812 | 1,198 | 31.4% | |
3,915 | 1,230 | 31.4% | |
3,314 | 1,038 | 31.3% | |
9,395 | 2,922 | 31.1% | |
10,645 | 3,289 | 30.9% | |
3,882 | 1,198 | 30.9% | |
1,838 | 566 | 30.8% | |
5,033 | 1,547 | 30.7% | |
2,063 | 627 | 30.4% | |
4,813 | 1,442 | 30% | |
993 | 298 | 30% | |
10,427 | 3,104 | 29.8% | |
19,710 | 5,846 | 29.7% | |
11,370 | 3,348 | 29.4% | |
11,880 | 3,479 | 29.3% | |
2,130 | 623 | 29.2% | |
4,201 | 1,225 | 29.2% | |
9,150 | 2,661 | 29.1% | |
19,121 | 5,544 | 29% | |
12,900 | 3,736 | 29% | |
4,685 | 1,354 | 28.9% | |
2,965 | 856 | 28.9% | |
1,618 | 464 | 28.7% | |
4,774 | 1,368 | 28.7% | |
13,027 | 3,726 | 28.6% | |
9,176 | 2,612 | 28.5% | |
5,824 | 1,650 | 28.3% | |
10,582 | 2,981 | 28.2% | |
7,905 | 2,215 | 28% | |
15,149 | 4,244 | 28% | |
27,300 | 7,604 | 27.9% | |
13,134 | 3,653 | 27.8% | |
7,789 | 2,166 | 27.8% | |
10,630 | 2,921 | 27.5% | |
2,487 | 673 | 27.1% | |
6,160 | 1,657 | 26.9% | |
1,161 | 307 | 26.4% | |
12,113 | 3,190 | 26.3% | |
10,278 | 2,679 | 26.1% | |
17,363 | 4,460 | 25.7% | |
15,047 | 3,854 | 25.6% | |
14,745 | 3,755 | 25.5% | |
4,389 | 1,109 | 25.3% | |
13,990 | 3,487 | 24.9% | |
4,425 | 1,103 | 24.9% | |
5,709 | 1,413 | 24.8% | |
8,786 | 2,167 | 24.7% | |
16,206 | 3,966 | 24.5% | |
12,142 | 2,963 | 24.4% | |
15,621 | 3,806 | 24.4% | |
15,034 | 3,644 | 24.2% | |
6,612 | 1,594 | 24.1% | |
6,153 | 1,472 | 23.9% | |
3,517 | 833 | 23.7% | |
20,292 | 4,760 | 23.5% | |
3,336 | 781 | 23.4% | |
6,125 | 1,431 | 23.4% | |
12,905 | 3,011 | 23.3% | |
3,673 | 850 | 23.1% | |
11,963 | 2,709 | 22.6% | |
5,937 | 1,333 | 22.5% | |
23,049 | 5,113 | 22.2% | |
3,783 | 837 | 22.1% | |
8,791 | 1,936 | 22% | |
5,720 | 1,251 | 21.9% | |
24,931 | 5,460 | 21.9% | |
2,094 | 456 | 21.8% | |
12,134 | 2,633 | 21.7% | |
3,630 | 784 | 21.6% | |
7,565 | 1,627 | 21.5% | |
4,434 | 954 | 21.5% | |
1,062 | 228 | 21.5% | |
12,028 | 2,562 | 21.3% | |
6,654 | 1,411 | 21.2% | |
24,832 | 5,228 | 21.1% | |
2,521 | 521 | 20.7% | |
8,507 | 1,765 | 20.7% | |
15,844 | 3,258 | 20.6% | |
1,649 | 338 | 20.5% | |
22,556 | 4,621 | 20.5% | |
13,963 | 2,869 | 20.5% | |
11,948 | 2,425 | 20.3% | |
7,961 | 1,609 | 20.2% | |
20,973 | 4,201 | 20% | |
2,843 | 563 | 19.8% | |
1,449 | 285 | 19.7% | |
19,420 | 3,807 | 19.6% | |
13,121 | 2,512 | 19.1% | |
16,809 | 3,190 | 19% | |
8,327 | 1,578 | 19% | |
15,301 | 2,891 | 18.9% | |
24,813 | 4,624 | 18.6% | |
11,691 | 2,140 | 18.3% | |
3,416 | 621 | 18.2% | |
4,320 | 757 | 17.5% | |
7,178 | 1,238 | 17.2% | |
4,727 | 783 | 16.6% | |
20,039 | 3,302 | 16.5% | |
7,713 | 1,252 | 16.2% | |
8,498 | 1,342 | 15.8% | |
5,897 | 918 | 15.6% | |
3,670 | 565 | 15.4% | |
31,057 | 4,772 | 15.4% | |
11,853 | 1,804 | 15.2% | |
13,462 | 1,990 | 14.8% | |
17,357 | 2,495 | 14.4% | |
7,173 | 988 | 13.8% | |
10,539 | 1,407 | 13.4% | |
9,076 | 1,148 | 12.6% | |
17,055 | 1,967 | 11.5% | |
26,932 | 2,794 | 10.4% | |
16,354 | 1,616 | 9.9% | |
10,332 | 958 | 9.3% | |
35,815 | 3,039 | 8.5% |
The yield data above are correct as of Jan. 21, 2015. For additional admissions data, complete rankings and much more, access the U.S. News College Compass.
Susannah Snider is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering paying for college and graduate school. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at ssnider@usnews.com.
