Search Schools Result

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

View profile

# 2

#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

View profile

# 3

#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

View profile

# 4

#2 overall influence

University of London

Federal research university in London, England

View profile

# 5

#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

View profile

# 6

#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

View profile

# 7

#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

View profile

# 8

#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

View profile

# 9

#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

View profile

# 10

#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

View profile

# 11

#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

View profile

# 12

#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

View profile

# 13

#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

View profile

# 14

#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

View profile

# 15

#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

View profile

# 16

#37 overall influence

University of Manchester

Public research university in Manchester, England

View profile

# 17

#39 overall influence

#30 desirability score

University of Southern California

Private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

13%

Graduation

92%

Student body

37K

Median SAT/ACT

1440/32

Los Angeles, CA

View profile

# 18

#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

View profile

# 19

#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

View profile

# 20

#69 overall influence

#19 desirability score

Georgetown University

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

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

94%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1450/32

Washington, DC

View profile

# 21

#61 overall influence

#76 desirability score

George Washington University

University in Washington, D.C.

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

42%

Graduation

84%

Student body

21K

Median SAT/ACT

1370/30

Washington, DC

View profile

# 22

#11 overall influence

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

View profile

# 23

#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

View profile

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

# 24

#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

View profile

# 25

#43 overall influence

#40 desirability score

University of Virginia

Public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Tuition + fees

$17K

Acceptance

26%

Graduation

94%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1415/32

Charlottesville, VA

View profile

# 26

#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

View profile

# 27

#53 overall influence

#11 desirability score

Dartmouth College

University and liberal arts college in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1490/33

Hanover, NH

View profile

# 28

#23 overall influence

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

View profile

# 29

#84 overall influence

#1450 desirability score

Syracuse University

University located in Syracuse, New York, United States

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

50%

Graduation

82%

Student body

23K

Median SAT/ACT

1275/27

Syracuse, NY

View profile

# 30

#73 overall influence

#25 desirability score

Tufts University

Private research university in Medford/Somerville, Massachusetts

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

92%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1455/32

Medford, MA

View profile

# 31

#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

View profile

# 32

#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

View profile

# 33

#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

View profile

# 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

View profile

# 35

#153 overall influence

#1312 desirability score

Arizona State University

Public university located in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Arizona, United States

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

85%

Graduation

67%

Student body

50K

Median SAT/ACT

1245/25

Tempe, AZ

View profile

# 36

#190 overall influence

#548 desirability score

George Mason University

Public liberal arts and research university in Fairfax, Virginia

Tuition + fees

$12K

Acceptance

81%

Graduation

70%

Student body

30K

Median SAT/ACT

1220/27

Fairfax, VA

View profile

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

# 37

#74 overall influence

#38 desirability score

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Tuition + fees

$9K

Acceptance

23%

Graduation

91%

Student body

25K

Median SAT/ACT

1375/31

Chapel Hill, NC

View profile

# 38

#89 overall influence

#1438 desirability score

The New School

University in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village

Tuition + fees

$49K

Acceptance

57%

Graduation

68%

Student body

10K

Median SAT/ACT

1255/27

New York, NY

View profile

# 39

#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

View profile

# 40

#4 overall influence

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

View profile

# 41

#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

View profile

# 42

#156 overall influence

University of Delhi

Central university located in New Delhi

View profile

# 43

#104 overall influence

#102 desirability score

Brigham Young University

Private research university in Provo, Utah, United States

Tuition + fees

$6K

Acceptance

64%

Graduation

83%

Student body

34K

Median SAT/ACT

1305/28

Provo, UT

View profile

# 44

#103 overall influence

#1461 desirability score

Michigan State University

Public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States

Tuition + fees

$16K

Acceptance

78%

Graduation

78%

Student body

43K

Median SAT/ACT

1210/26

East Lansing, MI

View profile

# 45

#79 overall influence

#214 desirability score

University of Maryland

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

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

47%

Graduation

87%

Student body

35K

Median SAT/ACT

1380/31

College Park, MD

View profile

# 46

#115 overall influence

#16 desirability score

Vanderbilt University

Private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

10%

Graduation

92%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Nashville, TN

View profile

# 47

#192 overall influence

National University of Singapore

Autonomous research university in Singapore

View profile

# 48

#47 overall influence

Rutgers University

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

View profile

# 49

#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

View profile

# 50

#197 overall influence

#113 desirability score

American University

Private liberal arts and research-based university in Washington, D.C.

Tuition + fees

$48K

Acceptance

32%

Graduation

81%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1300/29

Washington, DC

View profile