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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

#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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# 3

#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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# 4

#2 overall influence

University of London

Federal research university in London, England

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# 5

#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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# 6

#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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# 7

#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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# 8

#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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# 9

#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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# 10

#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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# 11

#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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# 12

#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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# 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

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# 14

#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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# 15

#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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# 16

#19 overall influence

University of Vienna

Public university in Vienna, Austria

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# 17

#4 overall influence

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

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# 18

#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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# 19

#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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# 20

#42 overall influence

McGill University

English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec

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# 21

#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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# 22

#23 overall influence

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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# 23

#11 overall influence

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

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# 24

#37 overall influence

University of Manchester

Public research university in Manchester, England

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# 25

#40 overall influence

University of Zurich

University in Switzerland

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# 26

#91 overall influence

#167 desirability score

Brandeis University

Private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

31%

Graduation

90%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1390/31

Waltham, MA

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# 27

#12 overall influence

Humboldt University of Berlin

University in Germany

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# 28

#1229 overall influence

Alliant International University

University

Tuition + fees

$17K

Acceptance

100%

Student body

San Diego, CA

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# 29

#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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# 30

#13 overall influence

University of Edinburgh

Public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

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# 31

#63 overall influence

University of British Columbia

Public research university in British Columbia, Canada

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# 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

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# 33

#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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# 34

#112 overall influence

#1381 desirability score

Brooklyn College

Senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn

Tuition + fees

$7K

Acceptance

44%

Graduation

51%

Student body

15K

Brooklyn, NY

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# 35

#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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# 36

#295 overall influence

Teachers College

Graduate school of Columbia University

Student body

New York, NY

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# 37

#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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# 38

#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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# 39

#94 overall influence

#100 desirability score

University of California, Santa Barbara

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

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

32%

Graduation

82%

Student body

26K

Median SAT/ACT

1345/30

Santa Barbara, CA

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# 40

#60 overall influence

City College of New York

Senior college of the City University of New York in New York City

Tuition + fees

$7K

Acceptance

48%

Graduation

47%

Student body

13K

New York, NY

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# 41

#102 overall influence

#77 desirability score

Ohio State University

Public research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

84%

Student body

55K

Median SAT/ACT

1345/29

Columbus, OH

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# 42

#81 overall influence

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Israeli University in Jerusalem

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# 43

#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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# 44

#47 overall influence

Rutgers University

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

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# 45

#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

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# 46

#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

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# 47

#57 overall influence

#369 desirability score

University of Iowa

Public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States

Tuition + fees

$9K

Acceptance

83%

Graduation

72%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1225/25

Iowa City, IA

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# 48

#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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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

# 49

#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

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# 50

#21 overall influence

Leipzig University

University in Leipzig, Germany

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