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Which colleges and universities are the most influential in the US? And which are the most influential schools in the world?

Find excellent universities in your field, see which colleges have made the biggest historical impact in your discipline, find out which schools are both influential and affordable, and more!
How we measure influence…
What is desirability?

Name

Country

Discipline

Min Year of Influence

Max Year of Influence

List of the most influential schools for the years 2000 – 2020

# 1

Harvard University

Private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

#1 institution's overall influence

#2 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

25K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/34

Cambridge, MA

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# 2

University of London

Federal research university in London, England

#2 institution's overall influence

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# 3

Stanford University

Private research university located in Stanford, California, United States

#10 institution's overall influence

#1 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$51K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1495/33

Stanford, CA

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# 4

Columbia University

Private Ivy League research university in New York City

#3 institution's overall influence

#6 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

28K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

New York, NY

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# 5

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

#9 institution's overall influence

#3 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

Graduation

93%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1535/35

Cambridge, MA

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# 6

University of California, Berkeley

Public research university in Berkeley, California, United States

#6 institution's overall influence

#29 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

92%

Student body

41K

Median SAT/ACT

1425/33

Berkeley, CA

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# 7

Yale University

Private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States

#7 institution's overall influence

#4 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

Graduation

98%

Student body

15K

Median SAT/ACT

1515/34

New Haven, CT

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# 8

University of Chicago

Private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States

#5 institution's overall influence

#8 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$57K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

12K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/34

Chicago, IL

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# 9

Princeton University

Private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States

#8 institution's overall influence

#5 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1505/33

Princeton, NJ

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# 10

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

#4 institution's overall influence

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# 11

New York University

Private research university in New York City

#16 institution's overall influence

#44 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

20%

Graduation

85%

Student body

47K

Median SAT/ACT

1410/31

New York, NY

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# 12

Cornell University

Private university in Ithaca

#14 institution's overall influence

#14 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

94%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1465/33

Ithaca, NY

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# 13

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

#11 institution's overall influence

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# 14

University of Michigan

Public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

#15 institution's overall influence

#37 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$16K

Acceptance

23%

Graduation

91%

Student body

42K

Median SAT/ACT

1420/32

Ann Arbor, MI

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# 15

University of Pennsylvania

Private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#17 institution's overall influence

#10 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1485/33

Philadelphia, PA

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# 16

University of California, Los Angeles

Public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States

#24 institution's overall influence

#31 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$13K

Acceptance

14%

Graduation

91%

Student body

44K

Median SAT/ACT

1405/32

Los Angeles, CA

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# 17

Johns Hopkins University

University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

#20 institution's overall influence

#21 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

92%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Baltimore, MD

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# 18

Northwestern University

Private research university with campuses in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, United States

#28 institution's overall influence

#24 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

19K

Median SAT/ACT

1490/34

Evanston, IL

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# 19

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

#23 institution's overall influence

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# 20

Duke University

Private university in Durham, North Carolina, United States

#31 institution's overall influence

#12 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

15K

Median SAT/ACT

1510/34

Durham, NC

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# 21

University of California, San Diego

Public university in La Jolla, California, United States

#49 institution's overall influence

#71 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

30%

Graduation

87%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1365/30

La Jolla, CA

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# 22

University of Southern California

Private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States

#39 institution's overall influence

#30 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

13%

Graduation

92%

Student body

37K

Median SAT/ACT

1440/32

Los Angeles, CA

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# 23

California Institute of Technology

Private research university located in Pasadena, California

#27 institution's overall influence

#9 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1555/35

Pasadena, CA

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# 24

Carnegie Mellon University

Private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

#45 institution's overall influence

#35 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

17%

Graduation

90%

Student body

16K

Median SAT/ACT

1500/34

Pittsburgh, PA

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# 25

University of Edinburgh

Public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

#13 institution's overall influence

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# 26

Boston University

Private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

#38 institution's overall influence

#56 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

22%

Graduation

87%

Student body

30K

Median SAT/ACT

1415/31

Boston, MA

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# 27

University of Texas at Austin

Public research university in Austin, Texas, United States

#41 institution's overall influence

#43 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

39%

Graduation

81%

Student body

45K

Median SAT/ACT

1355/30

Austin, TX

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# 28

Brown University

University in Providence, Rhode Island

#36 institution's overall influence

#7 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

96%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1485/33

Providence, RI

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# 29

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Public research university in Madison, Wisconsin., USA

#26 institution's overall influence

#216 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

85%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1365/29

Madison, WI

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# 30

University of Washington

Public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States

#44 institution's overall influence

#69 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

49%

Graduation

84%

Student body

46K

Median SAT/ACT

1340/29

Seattle, WA

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# 31

University of Manchester

Public research university in Manchester, England

#37 institution's overall influence

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# 32

McGill University

English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec

#42 institution's overall influence

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# 33

Imperial College London

Public research university located in London, United Kingdom

#50 institution's overall influence

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# 34

University of Minnesota

Public research university in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

#34 institution's overall influence

#890 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$15K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

78%

Student body

44K

Median SAT/ACT

1375/28

Minneapolis, MN

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# 35

University of Virginia

Public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

#43 institution's overall influence

#40 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$17K

Acceptance

26%

Graduation

94%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1415/32

Charlottesville, VA

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# 36

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

Public research university in Urbana and Champaign, Illinois, United States

#46 institution's overall influence

#162 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$17K

Acceptance

62%

Graduation

85%

Student body

52K

Median SAT/ACT

1330/29

Champaign, IL

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# 37

University of British Columbia

Public research university in British Columbia, Canada

#63 institution's overall influence

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# 38

Georgetown University

Private university in Washington, D.C., United States

#69 institution's overall influence

#19 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

94%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1450/32

Washington, DC

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# 39

George Washington University

University in Washington, D.C.

#61 institution's overall influence

#76 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

42%

Graduation

84%

Student body

21K

Median SAT/ACT

1370/30

Washington, DC

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# 40

Rutgers University

Multi-campus American public research university in New Jersey, United States

#47 institution's overall influence

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# 41

University of Bristol

Research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom

#64 institution's overall influence

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# 42

Purdue University

Public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States

#55 institution's overall influence

#1204 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$10K

Acceptance

58%

Graduation

77%

Student body

40K

Median SAT/ACT

1295/28

West Lafayette, IN

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# 43

University of Maryland

Public research university in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland

#79 institution's overall influence

#214 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

47%

Graduation

87%

Student body

35K

Median SAT/ACT

1380/31

College Park, MD

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# 44

Pennsylvania State University

Public university In State College and multiple campuses in Pennsylvania, United States

#87 institution's overall influence

Tuition + fees

$18K

Acceptance

56%

Graduation

86%

Student body

47K

Median SAT/ACT

1260/27

University Park, PA

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# 45

Tufts University

Private research university in Medford/Somerville, Massachusetts

#73 institution's overall influence

#25 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

92%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1455/32

Medford, MA

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# 46

Rice University

University in Houston, Texas, USA

#93 institution's overall influence

#15 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$47K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

93%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Houston, TX

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# 47

Humboldt University of Berlin

University in Germany

#12 institution's overall influence

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# 48

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Israeli University in Jerusalem

#81 institution's overall influence

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# 49

University of Arizona

Public university in Tucson, Arizona, United States

#88 institution's overall influence

#605 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$12K

Acceptance

84%

Graduation

60%

Student body

39K

Median SAT/ACT

1190/24

Tucson, AZ

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# 50

University of California, Santa Barbara

Public university near Goleta, California, United States and part of the University of California system

#94 institution's overall influence

#100 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

32%

Graduation

82%

Student body

26K

Median SAT/ACT

1345/30

Santa Barbara, CA

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