Top 15 Best Colleges for Computer Science
Computer science is a rapidly-expanding field with high demand and lucrative pay, drawing in many new students yearly. In college, Computer Science majors will learn programming languages and study the underlying systems and theories behind their code. Students will graduate with a strong ability to adapt to different programming environments and to come up with creative solutions in a short period of time. Graduates in Computer Science go on to become developers, analysts, data scientists, UX designers, and more. If you’re interested in studying compsci in college, here are the top 15 schools in the country to develop your skills, plus what it takes to get into these colleges. See the complete list of best schools for Computer Science majors. Click on the school to jump to a link where you can learn more about the college and what it takes to get in. Location: Stanford, CA Acceptance Rate: 4.3% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 7,087 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1440-1550 SAT, 32-35 ACT Learn more about Stanford and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Pasadena, CA Acceptance Rate: 6.4% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 948 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1530-1570 SAT, 35-36 ACT Learn more about Caltech and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Cambridge, MA Acceptance Rate: 6.7% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 4,602 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1520-1580 SAT, 34-36 ACT Learn more about MIT and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Princeton, NJ Acceptance Rate: 5.8% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 5,267 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1460-1570 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about Princeton and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Cambridge, MA Acceptance Rate: 4.5% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 6,788 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1460-1580 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about Harvard and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Pittsburgh, PA Acceptance Rate: 15.4% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 6,947 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1470-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about Carnegie Mellon and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Berkeley, CA Acceptance Rate: 16.8% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 30,853 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1350-1540 SAT, 30-35 ACT Learn more about UC Berkeley and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Houston, TX Acceptance Rate: 8.7% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 3,992 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1470-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about Rice and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Chicago, IL Acceptance Rate: 6.2% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 6,552 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1500-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about UChicago and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Ithaca, NY Acceptance Rate: 10.6% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 15,182 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1400-1560 SAT, 32-35 ACT Learn more about Cornell and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Durham, NC Acceptance Rate: 7.8% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 6,682 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1500-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about Duke and what it takes to get accepted. Location: New York, NY Acceptance Rate: 5.3% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 6,202 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1480-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about Columbia and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Atlanta, GA Acceptance Rate: 18.8% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 16,049 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1310-1480 SAT, 29-34 ACT Learn more about Georgia Tech and what it takes to get accepted. Location: Philadelphia, PA Acceptance Rate: 7.7% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 10,183 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1460-1550 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about UPenn and what it takes to get accepted. Location: New Haven, CT Acceptance Rate: 6.1% Total Undergrad Enrollment: 5,964 Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1470-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT Learn more about Yale and what it takes to get accepted. There are many more schools that are great for Computer Science majors. See the complete list of best colleges for compsci. Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!Check out our video to learn more about the top schools for computer science!
Top 15 Best Colleges for Computer Science
School Name
Location
Acceptance Rate (2019)
Middle 50% SAT Scores
Middle 50% ACT Scores
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA
4.3%
1440-1550
32-35
2. California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA
6.4%
1530-1570
35-36
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
6.7%
1520-1580
34-36
4. Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
5.8%
1460-1570
33-35
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
4.5%
1460-1580
33-35
6. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
15.4%
1460-1560
33-35
7. UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
16.8%
1350-1540
30-35
8. Rice University
Houston, TX
8.7%
1470-1560
33-35
9. University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
6.2%
1500-1560
33-35
10. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
10.6%
1400-1560
32-35
11. Duke University
Durham, NC
7.8%
1500-1560
33-35
12. Columbia University
New York, NY
5.3%
1480-1560
33-35
13. Georgia Institute of Technology – main campus
Atlanta, Georgia
18.8%
1310-1480
29-34
14. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7.7%
1460-1550
33-35
15. Yale University
New Haven, CT
6.1%
1470-1560
33-35
1. Stanford University
2. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
4. Princeton University
5. Harvard University
6. Carnegie Mellon University
7. UC Berkeley
8. Rice University
9. University of Chicago
10. Cornell University
11. Duke University
12. Columbia University
13. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
14. University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)
15. Yale University
