Of 20 ‘New Ivies’ Schools, This Is Hardest To Get Into

The 20 public and private “New Ivies” universities listed by Forbes last week outpace Ivy League schools in the eyes of employers, but some are easier to get into than others.

They are all top-tier schools that only accept the best applicants with high SAT scores. But acceptance rates vary considerably. Private schools Northwestern University and Rice University admit only 8 percent of applicants, while half of all students who apply are accepted at Purdue University, a public school.

The hardest of the public institutions to get into are the U.S. Air Force Academy and Georgia Institute of Technology, each with acceptance rates of 14 percent.

• Read more: Why Grads Of These ‘New Ivies’ Schools Get A Closer Look From Employers

The highest acceptance rate of private schools is 37 percent at Case Western Reserve University.

Here’s a closer look:

Private Institutions

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 12 percent

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio: 37 percent

Emory University, Atlanta: 11 percent

Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.: 13 percent

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois: 8 percent

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana: 11 percent

Rice University, Houston, Texas: 8 percent

Tufts University, Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts: 11 percent

Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, Missouri: 12 percent

Public‎ Institutions

United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado: 14 percent

University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida: 24 percent

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta: 14 percent

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan: 16 percent

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina: 15 percent

Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana: 50 percent

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas: 27 percent

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia: 17 percent

William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia: 34 percent

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin: 45

The Forbes ranking is based on a survey of executives who were asked not only to rate schools but also how artificial intelligence was changing their hiring of new grads.

Forbes said new college graduates are entering one of the toughest job markets in recent memory, with tech giants like Amazon and Oracle cutting many entry-level jobs as they embrace the cost-cutting benefits of AI.

Recruiters say graduates from these schools often arrive with practical skills and workplace experience that rival or exceed those from traditional elite universities.

» For more on this, go to Forbes.