By: Jonathan Wai and Jenna Goudreau
In order to determine a school’s overall smarts, Jonathan Wai, a Duke University Talent Identification Program researcher, analyzed the average standardized test scores that schools report to US News. (Those that did not report scores are not included.) If you’re looking for exclusivity, academic excellence, and exposure to the brainiest students in the US, you may want to check out the universities below
Here are the smartest private colleges in America:
| Smarts Rank | School |
Average SAT |
| 1 | California Institute of Technology | 1545 |
| 2 | University of Chicago | 1515 |
| 3 | Princeton University | 1505 |
| 3 | Harvard University | 1505 |
| 3 | Yale University | 1505 |
| 6 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1500 |
| 7 | Columbia University | 1485 |
| 8 | Harvey Mudd College | 1480 |
| 9 | Stanford University | 1475 |
| 10 | Northwestern University | 1470 |
| 11 | Dartmouth College | 1460 |
| 11 | Washington University in St. Louis | 1460 |
| 11 | University of Notre Dame | 1460 |
| 11 | Vanderbilt University | 1460 |
| 11 | Rice University | 1460 |
| 11 | Pomona College | 1460 |
| 17 | Duke University | 1455 |
| 18 | University of Pennsylvania | 1450 |
| 19 | Tufts University | 1445 |
| 20 | Amherst College | 1440 |
| 20 | Swarthmore College | 1440 |
| 22 | Brown University (3) | 1435 |
| 22 | Carnegie Mellon University | 1435 |
| 22 | Williams College | 1435 |
| 22 | Bowdoin College (2) | 1435 |
| 26 | Johns Hopkins University | 1430 |
| 26 | Carleton College | 1430 |
| 28 | Cornell University | 1420 |
| 29 | Georgetown University | 1410 |
| 29 | Wellesley College | 1410 |
| 29 | Claremont McKenna College | 1410 |
| 32 | Haverford College | 1400 |
| 32 | Washington and Lee University | 1400 |
| 32 | Wesleyan University | 1400 |
| 35 | Vassar College | 1395 |
| 36 | Northeastern University | 1390 |
| 37 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 1389 |
| 38 | Middlebury College | 1385 |
| 38 | Hamilton College | 1385 |
| 40 | University of Southern California | 1380 |
| 41 | Case Western Reserve University | 1375 |
| 41 | Reed College (9) | 1375 |
| 41 | Bard College at Simon’s Rock (2) | 1375 |
| 44 | Scripps College | 1367 |
| 45 | Emory University | 1365 |
| 46 | Oberlin College | 1363 |
| 47 | Boston College | 1360 |
| 47 | New York University | 1360 |
| 47 | Tulane University (3) | 1360 |
| 47 | Colgate University | 1360 |
| 51 | Cooper Union | 1355 |
| 52 | University of Rochester (2) | 1350 |
| 52 | Brandeis University | 1350 |
| 52 | Macalester College | 1350 |
| 55 | Colby College (2) | 1345 |
| 55 | Bates College (2) | 1345 |
| 57 | Grinnell College | 1340 |
| 57 | Bryn Mawr College | 1340 |
| 57 | Barnard College | 1340 |
| 60 | Davidson College (3) | 1335 |
| 60 | Smith College (2) | 1335 |
| 62 | Wake Forest University (2) | 1325 |
| 62 | University of Miami | 1325 |
| 62 | Colorado College (2) | 1325 |
| 62 | Mount Holyoke College (2) | 1325 |
| 62 | Connecticut College (2) | 1325 |
| 67 | Whitman College | 1321 |
| 68 | Kenyon College | 1320 |
| 68 | Wheaton College | 1320 |
| 70 | Lehigh University | 1315 |
| 70 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2) | 1315 |
| 70 | Franklin and Marshall College (2) | 1315 |
| 73 | University of Richmond | 1310 |
| 73 | Union College (NY) (2) | 1310 |
| 75 | College of the Holy Cross (2) | 1305 |
| 75 | Pitzer College (2) | 1305 |
| 75 | Occidental College | 1305 |
| 75 | Hendrix College | 1305 |
| 75 | St. John’s College (NM) (2) | 1305 |
| 75 | Villanova University | 1305 |
| 81 | Southern Methodist University | 1300 |
| 81 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 1300 |
| 81 | Bucknell University | 1300 |
| 81 | Denison University (2) | 1300 |
| 81 | Rhodes College | 1300 |
| 81 | Hillsdale College | 1300 |
| 87 | George Washington University | 1295 |
| 88 | Boston University | 1290 |
| 89 | Brigham Young University-Provo | 1285 |
| 89 | University of Tulsa | 1285 |
| 89 | Centre College | 1285 |
| 89 | Gettysburg College (2) | 1285 |
| 89 | St. Olaf College | 1285 |
| 89 | Lawrence University (2) | 1285 |
| 89 | Santa Clara University | 1285 |
| 96 | Bennington College (2) | 1280 |
| 97 | Dickinson College (2) | 1278 |
| 98 | Lafayette College | 1275 |
| 98 | Bard College (2) | 1275 |
| 98 | St. John’s College (2) | 1275 |
| 98 | Lewis & Clark College (2) | 1275 |
