What are your chances of acceptance?

Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
Duke University
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 UCLA
UCLA
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Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

Top 15 Best Colleges for Computer Science

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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.

 

Check out our video to learn more about the top schools for computer science!

 

 

Top 15 Best Colleges for Computer Science 

 

Click on the school to jump to a link where you can learn more about the college and what it takes to get in.

 

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

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.

 

2. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

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.

 

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

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.

 

4. Princeton University

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.

 

5. Harvard University

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.

 

6. Carnegie Mellon University

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.

 

7. UC Berkeley

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.

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8. Rice University

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.

 

9. University of Chicago

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.

 

10. Cornell University

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.

 

11. Duke University

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.

 

12. Columbia University

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.

 

13. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)

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.

 

14. University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)

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.

 

15. Yale University

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!

Lily Fang
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Lily Fang is the Content Manager at CollegeVine and an alum of Amherst College. In her spare time, she trains for marathons and blogs about sustainability, running, and travel.