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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

#2 overall influence

University of London

Federal research university in London, England

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# 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

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# 4

#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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# 5

#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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# 6

#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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# 7

#37 overall influence

University of Manchester

Public research university in Manchester, England

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# 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

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# 9

#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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# 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

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# 11

#11 overall influence

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

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# 12

#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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# 13

#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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# 14

#4 overall influence

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

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# 15

#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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# 16

#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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School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences

# 17

#134 overall influence

School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences

French higher education institution

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# 18

#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

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# 19

#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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# 20

#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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# 21

#156 overall influence

University of Delhi

Central university located in New Delhi

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# 22

#157 overall influence

University of Warwick

University in Coventry, United Kingdom

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# 23

#497 overall influence

Graduate Center, CUNY

Doctoral-granting institution of the City University of New York in New York City, US

Tuition + fees

$7K

Student body

New York, NY

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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

#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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# 26

#64 overall influence

University of Bristol

Research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom

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# 27

#23 overall influence

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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# 28

#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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# 29

#30 overall influence

University of Bonn

Public research university located in Bonn, Germany

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# 30

#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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# 31

#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

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# 32

#13 overall influence

University of Edinburgh

Public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

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# 33

#63 overall influence

University of British Columbia

Public research university in British Columbia, Canada

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# 34

#107 overall influence

Australian National University

University in Canberra, Australia

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# 35

#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

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# 36

#253 overall influence

University of Essex

University in Essex, United Kingdom

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# 37

#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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# 38

#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

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# 39

#12 overall influence

Humboldt University of Berlin

University in Germany

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# 40

#147 overall influence

University of Sussex

University in Brighton and Hove, UK

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# 41

#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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# 42

#600 overall influence

Bocconi University

Private university in Milan, Italy

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# 43

#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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# 44

#92 overall influence

#26 desirability score

Amherst College

Liberal arts college in Massachusetts

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

13%

Graduation

93%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1430/32

Amherst, MA

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# 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

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# 46

#33 overall influence

University of Glasgow

University located in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1451

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# 47

#77 overall influence

University of Calcutta

Public state university in Kolkata, West Bengal

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# 48

#127 overall influence

#953 desirability score

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Public university in Massachusetts, USA

Tuition + fees

$16K

Acceptance

60%

Graduation

76%

Student body

28K

Median SAT/ACT

1295/28

Amherst, MA

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# 49

#19 overall influence

University of Vienna

Public university in Vienna, Austria

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# 50

#47 overall influence

Rutgers University

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

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