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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

#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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# 3

#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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# 4

#11 overall influence

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

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# 5

#37 overall influence

University of Manchester

Public research university in Manchester, England

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# 6

#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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# 7

#2 overall influence

University of London

Federal research university in London, 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

#4 overall influence

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

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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

#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

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# 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

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# 13

#23 overall influence

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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# 14

#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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# 15

#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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# 16

#12 overall influence

Humboldt University of Berlin

University in Germany

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# 17

#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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# 18

#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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# 19

#280 overall influence

University of Lancaster

Research university in Lancaster, United Kingdom

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# 20

#122 overall influence

Durham University

Collegiate public research university in Durham, England, United Kingdom

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# 21

#81 overall influence

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Israeli University in Jerusalem

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# 22

#54 overall influence

University of Birmingham

University in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

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# 23

#42 overall influence

McGill University

English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec

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# 24

#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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# 25

#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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# 26

#116 overall influence

#23 desirability score

University of Notre Dame

Catholic university in South Bend, Indiana, United States

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

18%

Graduation

95%

Student body

13K

Median SAT/ACT

1475/34

Notre Dame, IN

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# 27

#18 overall influence

University of Göttingen

University in the city of Göttingen, Germany

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# 28

#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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# 29

#51 overall influence

University of Tübingen

Public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

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# 30

#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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# 31

#13 overall influence

University of Edinburgh

Public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

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# 32

#48 overall influence

University of Freiburg

University in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

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# 33

#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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# 34

#309 overall influence

University of Kent

Public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom

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# 35

#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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# 36

#375 overall influence

#1245 desirability score

Santa Clara University

Private non-profit Jesuit university located in Santa Clara, California

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

50%

Graduation

89%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1355/30

Santa Clara, CA

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# 37

#200 overall influence

#261 desirability score

The Catholic University of America

Private Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Tuition + fees

$46K

Acceptance

84%

Graduation

70%

Student body

Washington, DC

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# 38

#385 overall influence

Claremont Graduate University

University located in Claremont, California, United States

Student body

Claremont, CA

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# 39

#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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# 40

#64 overall influence

University of Bristol

Research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom

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# 41

#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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# 42

#354 overall influence

Princeton Theological Seminary

Seminary

Student body

Princeton, NJ

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# 43

#179 overall influence

Queen's University

University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada

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# 44

#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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# 45

#296 overall influence

#919 desirability score

University of California, Riverside

Public research university in Riverside, California, USA

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

51%

Graduation

73%

Student body

23K

Median SAT/ACT

1220/26

Riverside, CA

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# 46

#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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# 47

#100 overall influence

#87 desirability score

University of California, Irvine

Public research university in Irvine, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

29%

Graduation

87%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1300/29

Irvine, CA

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

# 48

#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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# 49

#394 overall influence

#1019 desirability score

Wheaton College

Christian liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois

Tuition + fees

$36K

Acceptance

83%

Graduation

91%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1315/29

Wheaton, IL

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# 50

#325 overall influence

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Religious education organization located in New York, New York

Tuition + fees

$57K

Acceptance

47%

Graduation

79%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1430/32

New York, NY

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