Introducing the CollegeAdmissionForum 'CAF Select 25'

As the college football season enters its final stretch all eyes are on the BCS poll of the top 25 teams. Not to be outdone, and to help answer that perennial question -- "which is the best college?", we here at CollegeAdmissionForum are launching the 'CAF Select 25'. Like Ohio State and Michigan in the BCS, traditional rivals Harvard and Yale are firmly entrenched at the top of the CAF Select 25.

The CAF Select 25 lists the 25 most selective colleges and universities in the US. There are numerous college rankings published annually, most of which embody surveys, complex formulas and much hand wringing among the colleges (especially those not at the top). It always seemed to me that the best and simplest way to judge the top colleges was to let the market speak. Which colleges are in the greatest demand? Which are the toughest to get into? I've never seen a list like this published, so jumping into the void, here it is -- CollegeAdmissionForum.com's first ever CAF Select 25:
(Colleges are listed by the most selective to least selective based on the % of applicants admitted)

1) Harvard (9.2%)
2) Yale (9.7%)
3) Princeton (10.9%)
4) Stanford (12.0%)
5) Columbia (12.8%)
6) MIT (14.3%)
7) Brown (15.1%)
8) Dartmouth (17.0%)
9) Amherst (18.7%)
10) Washington University (18.8%)
11) Williams (18.8%)
12) Pomona (18.8%)
13) Caltech (20.0%)
14) U of Pennsylvania (20.8%)
15) Claremont McKenna) (21.0%)
16) Georgetown (21.5%)
17) Swarthmore (22.4%)
18) Middlebury (23.6%)
19) Duke (23.7)
20) Bowdoin (24.5%)
21) Rice (25.0%)
22) Haverford (26.2%)
23) UC Berkeley (26.5%)
24) USC (26.6%)
25) UCLA (26.9%)
25) Davidson (26.9%)

(note: These rankings are based on the entering class of 2005/2006. Data was mined from US News America's Best Colleges 2007 , premium edition. A subscription to this wealth of college data costs $15/year. In a future post I'll evaluate whether this subscription is a worthwhile investment for your college admission toolkit.)

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