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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

Subdiscipline

Min Year of Influence

Max Year of Influence

# 1

#1 overall influence

#2 desirability score

Harvard University

Private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

25K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/34

Cambridge, MA

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# 2

#6 overall influence

#29 desirability score

University of California, Berkeley

Public research university in Berkeley, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

92%

Student body

41K

Median SAT/ACT

1425/33

Berkeley, CA

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# 3

#10 overall influence

#1 desirability score

Stanford University

Private research university located in Stanford, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$51K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1495/33

Stanford, CA

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# 4

#9 overall influence

#3 desirability score

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

Graduation

93%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1535/35

Cambridge, MA

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# 5

#4 overall influence

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

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# 6

#2 overall influence

University of London

Federal research university in London, England

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# 7

#37 overall influence

University of Manchester

Public research university in Manchester, England

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# 8

#3 overall influence

#6 desirability score

Columbia University

Private Ivy League research university in New York City

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

28K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

New York, NY

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# 9

#7 overall influence

#4 desirability score

Yale University

Private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

Graduation

98%

Student body

15K

Median SAT/ACT

1515/34

New Haven, CT

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# 10

#11 overall influence

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

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# 11

#14 overall influence

#14 desirability score

Cornell University

Private university in Ithaca

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

94%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1465/33

Ithaca, NY

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# 12

#5 overall influence

#8 desirability score

University of Chicago

Private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Tuition + fees

$57K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

12K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/34

Chicago, IL

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# 13

#49 overall influence

#71 desirability score

University of California, San Diego

Public university in La Jolla, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

30%

Graduation

87%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1365/30

La Jolla, CA

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# 14

#20 overall influence

#21 desirability score

Johns Hopkins University

University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

92%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Baltimore, MD

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# 15

#8 overall influence

#5 desirability score

Princeton University

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

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1505/33

Princeton, NJ

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# 16

#27 overall influence

#9 desirability score

California Institute of Technology

Private research university located in Pasadena, California

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1555/35

Pasadena, CA

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# 17

#13 overall influence

University of Edinburgh

Public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

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# 18

#15 overall influence

#37 desirability score

University of Michigan

Public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Tuition + fees

$16K

Acceptance

23%

Graduation

91%

Student body

42K

Median SAT/ACT

1420/32

Ann Arbor, MI

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# 19

#17 overall influence

#10 desirability score

University of Pennsylvania

Private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1485/33

Philadelphia, PA

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# 20

#165 overall influence

University of California, San Francisco

University

Student body

San Francisco, CA

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# 21

#118 overall influence

The Rockefeller University

University

Student body

New York, NY

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# 22

#16 overall influence

#44 desirability score

New York University

Private research university in New York City

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

20%

Graduation

85%

Student body

47K

Median SAT/ACT

1410/31

New York, NY

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# 23

#44 overall influence

#69 desirability score

University of Washington

Public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

49%

Graduation

84%

Student body

46K

Median SAT/ACT

1340/29

Seattle, WA

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# 24

#31 overall influence

#12 desirability score

Duke University

Private university in Durham, North Carolina, United States

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

15K

Median SAT/ACT

1510/34

Durham, NC

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# 25

#26 overall influence

#216 desirability score

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Public research university in Madison, Wisconsin., USA

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

85%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1365/29

Madison, WI

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# 26

#50 overall influence

Imperial College London

Public research university located in London, United Kingdom

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# 27

#24 overall influence

#31 desirability score

University of California, Los Angeles

Public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$13K

Acceptance

14%

Graduation

91%

Student body

44K

Median SAT/ACT

1405/32

Los Angeles, CA

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# 28

#23 overall influence

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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# 29

#66 overall influence

#20 desirability score

Washington University in St. Louis

University in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

94%

Student body

12K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/33

Saint Louis, MO

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# 30

#67 overall influence

#987 desirability score

University of Pittsburgh

State-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Tuition + fees

$19K

Acceptance

59%

Graduation

81%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1350/30

Pittsburgh, PA

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# 31

#42 overall influence

McGill University

English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec

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# 32

#63 overall influence

University of British Columbia

Public research university in British Columbia, Canada

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# 33

#87 overall influence

Pennsylvania State University

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

Tuition + fees

$18K

Acceptance

56%

Graduation

86%

Student body

47K

Median SAT/ACT

1260/27

University Park, PA

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# 34

#34 overall influence

#890 desirability score

University of Minnesota

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

Tuition + fees

$15K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

78%

Student body

44K

Median SAT/ACT

1375/28

Minneapolis, MN

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# 35

#455 overall influence

#347 desirability score

Susquehanna University

In Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania

Tuition + fees

$47K

Acceptance

72%

Graduation

74%

Student body

Selinsgrove, PA

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University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

# 36

#46 overall influence

#162 desirability score

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

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

Tuition + fees

$17K

Acceptance

62%

Graduation

85%

Student body

52K

Median SAT/ACT

1330/29

Champaign, IL

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# 37

#88 overall influence

#605 desirability score

University of Arizona

Public university in Tucson, Arizona, United States

Tuition + fees

$12K

Acceptance

84%

Graduation

60%

Student body

39K

Median SAT/ACT

1190/24

Tucson, AZ

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# 38

#19 overall influence

University of Vienna

Public university in Vienna, Austria

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# 39

#36 overall influence

#7 desirability score

Brown University

University in Providence, Rhode Island

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

96%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1485/33

Providence, RI

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# 40

#70 overall influence

University of Leeds

University in Leeds, United Kingdom

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# 41

#45 overall influence

#35 desirability score

Carnegie Mellon University

Private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

17%

Graduation

90%

Student body

16K

Median SAT/ACT

1500/34

Pittsburgh, PA

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# 42

#147 overall influence

University of Sussex

University in Brighton and Hove, UK

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# 43

#55 overall influence

#1204 desirability score

Purdue University

Public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States

Tuition + fees

$10K

Acceptance

58%

Graduation

77%

Student body

40K

Median SAT/ACT

1295/28

West Lafayette, IN

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# 44

#38 overall influence

#56 desirability score

Boston University

Private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

22%

Graduation

87%

Student body

30K

Median SAT/ACT

1415/31

Boston, MA

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# 45

#28 overall influence

#24 desirability score

Northwestern University

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

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

19K

Median SAT/ACT

1490/34

Evanston, IL

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# 46

#486 overall influence

#1108 desirability score

Saint Francis University

Four-year, coeducational Catholic liberal arts university in Loretto, Pennsylvania

Tuition + fees

$36K

Acceptance

75%

Graduation

67%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1145/23

Loretto, PA

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# 47

#99 overall influence

#61 desirability score

University of Rochester

Private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

29%

Graduation

85%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1410/32

Rochester, NY

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# 48

#469 overall influence

#334 desirability score

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States

Tuition + fees

$13K

Acceptance

93%

Graduation

54%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1015/20

Indiana, PA

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# 49

#41 overall influence

#43 desirability score

University of Texas at Austin

Public research university in Austin, Texas, United States

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

39%

Graduation

81%

Student body

45K

Median SAT/ACT

1355/30

Austin, TX

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# 50

#93 overall influence

#15 desirability score

Rice University

University in Houston, Texas, USA

Tuition + fees

$47K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

93%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Houston, TX

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