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Which Highly Selective Colleges Have the Highest and Lowest Percentages of Asian Undergraduates?

By Chronicle Staff September 9, 2018

Asians made up more than a fifth of undergraduate enrollment at 23 of the 95 most selective four-year colleges in the country in the fall of 2016, and 68 of those 95 colleges had Asian enrollment that exceeded Asians’ 5.2-percent share of the U.S. population. Taken together, highly selective colleges had Asian enrollment of nearly 18 percent, compared with 7 percent for four-year colleges over all. The most selective colleges in the country also had a lower share of whites than did four-year colleges over all. Though some of the colleges with the highest representation of Asians were in states with relatively large Asian populations, like California, others were in states with low Asian representation, like North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

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Asians made up more than a fifth of undergraduate enrollment at 23 of the 95 most selective four-year colleges in the country in the fall of 2016, and 68 of those 95 colleges had Asian enrollment that exceeded Asians’ 5.2-percent share of the U.S. population. Taken together, highly selective colleges had Asian enrollment of nearly 18 percent, compared with 7 percent for four-year colleges over all. The most selective colleges in the country also had a lower share of whites than did four-year colleges over all. Though some of the colleges with the highest representation of Asians were in states with relatively large Asian populations, like California, others were in states with low Asian representation, like North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

RankInstitutionState% of state residents who are Asian% of Asian undergrads% of other undergrads who are minorities (not Asian)% of non-Hispanic white undergradsAdmission rate
1. California Institute of Technology California 13.9% 47.0% 21.6% 31.5% 8.1%
2. U. of California at Berkeley California 13.9% 42.7% 25.6% 31.7% 16.9%
3. Carnegie Mellon U. Pennsylvania 3.1% 38.6% 22.5% 38.9% 21.7%
4. City U. of New York Bernard M. Baruch College New York 8.1% 35.6% 40.1% 24.2% 30.7%
5. U. of California at Los Angeles California 13.9% 33.3% 35.3% 31.4% 18.0%
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts 6.1% 29.1% 31.2% 39.6% 7.9%
7. Rice U. Texas 4.4% 28.0% 29.5% 42.5% 15.3%
8. Johns Hopkins U. Maryland 6.1% 27.2% 28.2% 44.5% 12.8%
9. New York U. New York 8.1% 26.5% 30.2% 43.3% 31.9%
10. Wellesley College Massachusetts 6.1% 26.5% 27.6% 45.9% 28.6%
11. California State U. at Long Beach California 13.9% 25.0% 55.1% 19.9% 31.9%
12. Princeton U. New Jersey 9.2% 24.7% 25.0% 50.3% 6.5%
13. U. of Southern California California 13.9% 24.6% 28.4% 47.0% 16.6%
14. Duke U. North Carolina 2.6% 24.4% 23.1% 52.4% 10.8%
15. Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia 3.7% 23.1% 19.7% 57.1% 25.8%
16. Harvey Mudd College California 13.9% 23.1% 34.6% 42.4% 12.9%
17. Stanford U. California 13.9% 22.8% 37.2% 40.0% 4.8%
18. Emory U. Georgia 3.7% 22.7% 26.0% 51.3% 25.3%
19. U. of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 3.1% 22.7% 25.1% 52.3% 9.4%
20. Cornell U. New York 8.1% 22.5% 29.2% 48.3% 14.1%
21. U. of Chicago Illinois 5.1% 21.8% 25.4% 52.7% 7.9%
22. Columbia U. New York 8.1% 21.7% 32.6% 45.7% 6.8%
23. Harvard U. Massachusetts 6.1% 20.3% 28.2% 51.5% 5.4%
24. Juilliard School New York 8.1% 19.7% 24.1% 56.2% 6.2%
25. Yale U. Connecticut 4.3% 19.5% 28.5% 52.1% 6.3%
26. Washington U. in St. Louis Missouri 1.8% 19.4% 21.3% 59.3% 16.5%
27. Northwestern U. Illinois 5.1% 19.2% 26.2% 54.6% 10.7%
28. Boston U. Massachusetts 6.1% 19.0% 24.8% 56.2% 29.4%
29. Swarthmore College Pennsylvania 3.1% 18.9% 31.7% 49.4% 12.8%
30. Babson College Massachusetts 6.1% 17.6% 26.0% 56.4% 24.6%
31. Brown U. Rhode Island 3.3% 17.5% 30.2% 52.4% 9.3%
32. Pomona College California 13.9% 17.3% 37.7% 44.9% 9.4%
33. Dartmouth College New Hampshire 2.4% 17.2% 26.6% 56.2% 10.6%
34. Scripps College California 13.9% 17.0% 24.1% 58.8% 29.9%
35. Northeastern U. Massachusetts 6.1% 17.0% 20.5% 62.5% 28.9%
36. Amherst College Massachusetts 6.1% 16.1% 35.0% 48.9% 13.7%
37. U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor Michigan 2.8% 15.4% 15.3% 69.2% 28.6%
38. Barnard College New York 8.1% 15.4% 27.2% 57.4% 16.7%
39. U. of Virginia Virginia 6.1% 14.3% 19.3% 66.4% 29.9%
40. Tufts U. Massachusetts 6.1% 14.2% 18.5% 67.3% 14.3%
41. Vanderbilt U. Tennessee 1.6% 14.2% 27.2% 58.6% 10.7%
42. California Institute of the Arts California 13.9% 14.1% 36.7% 49.2% 23.6%
43. Williams College Massachusetts 6.1% 13.8% 27.9% 58.3% 17.6%
44. Claremont McKenna College California 13.9% 13.5% 32.0% 54.4% 9.4%
45. California Polytechnic State U. at San Luis Obispo California 13.9% 13.5% 26.0% 60.5% 29.5%
46. Vassar College New York 8.1% 13.4% 23.5% 63.0% 26.9%
47. Georgetown U. District of Columbia 3.6% 11.4% 23.0% 65.6% 16.8%
48. Haverford College Pennsylvania 3.1% 11.2% 22.4% 66.4% 21.4%
49. U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina 2.6% 11.0% 21.9% 67.1% 26.9%
50. Boston College Massachusetts 6.1% 10.9% 18.8% 70.2% 31.1%
51. Pitzer College California 13.9% 10.4% 35.9% 53.7% 13.7%
52. Grinnell College Iowa 2.1% 9.9% 23.1% 66.9% 20.2%
53. Carleton College Minnesota 4.5% 9.7% 20.1% 70.3% 22.6%
54. Lehigh U. Pennsylvania 3.1% 9.5% 17.1% 73.4% 26.1%
55. Brigham Young U.-Hawaii Hawaii 38.0% 8.6% 39.0% 52.4% 27.1%
56. Wesleyan U. (Conn.) Connecticut 4.3% 8.5% 27.1% 64.4% 17.8%
57. U. of Richmond Virginia 6.1% 8.3% 22.1% 69.6% 32.5%
58. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy New York 8.1% 8.3% 15.4% 76.3% 20.3%
59. Hamilton College (N.Y.) New York 8.1% 8.0% 17.8% 74.2% 26.1%
60. Middlebury College Vermont 1.5% 7.6% 20.3% 72.0% 16.1%
61. Reed College Oregon 4.0% 7.3% 25.3% 67.4% 31.3%
62. American U. District of Columbia 3.6% 7.2% 27.4% 65.4% 25.9%
63. Colby College Maine 1.1% 7.1% 18.9% 74.0% 18.7%
64. City U. of New York Herbert H. Lehman College New York 8.1% 6.7% 86.9% 6.4% 32.5%
65. Bowdoin College Maine 1.1% 6.5% 25.2% 68.3% 14.8%
66. Davidson College North Carolina 2.6% 5.9% 20.6% 73.5% 20.1%
67. Skidmore College New York 8.1% 5.7% 20.0% 74.3% 29.1%
68. U. of Notre Dame Indiana 2.0% 5.4% 20.8% 73.8% 18.7%
69. Lafayette College Pennsylvania 3.1% 5.1% 16.7% 78.2% 28.3%
70. Bucknell U. Pennsylvania 3.1% 5.1% 14.4% 80.6% 29.9%
71. Colorado College Colorado 2.9% 4.6% 23.0% 72.4% 16.0%
72. Bates College Maine 1.1% 4.5% 20.3% 75.2% 22.6%
73. Wake Forest U. North Carolina 2.6% 4.5% 17.9% 77.5% 30.3%
74. Oberlin College Ohio 1.9% 4.3% 22.5% 73.2% 28.0%
75. Colgate U. New York 8.1% 4.2% 20.1% 75.7% 28.8%
76. Tulane U. Louisiana 1.7% 4.2% 20.1% 75.7% 25.5%
77. Kenyon College Ohio 1.9% 3.9% 16.9% 79.2% 26.6%
78. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico 1.4% 3.5% 42.6% 53.8% 23.5%
79. Hope International U. California 13.9% 3.5% 49.8% 46.7% 32.1%
80. Washington and Lee U. Virginia 6.1% 3.4% 9.3% 87.3% 23.6%
81. Robert Morris U. Illinois Illinois 5.1% 2.8% 60.3% 36.9% 23.1%
82. Berea College Kentucky 1.3% 2.1% 33.4% 64.4% 32.8%
83. American Musical and Dramatic Academy New York 8.1% 2.1% 58.1% 39.7% 21.9%
84. Louisiana State U. at Alexandria Louisiana 1.7% 1.6% 30.2% 68.2% 33.3%
85. Liberty U. Virginia 6.1% 1.5% 28.0% 70.5% 24.4%
86. Howard U. District of Columbia 3.6% 1.3% 97.1% 1.5% 30.0%
87. Southern U. at New Orleans Louisiana 1.7% 1.0% 96.1% 2.8% 11.5%
88. Southwestern Assemblies of God U. Texas 4.4% 0.9% 40.3% 58.8% 23.5%
89. College of the Ozarks Missouri 1.8% 0.8% 5.4% 93.8% 14.2%
90. Florida A&M U. Florida 2.6% 0.6% 92.8% 6.6% 31.1%
91. Oakland City U. Indiana 2.0% 0.3% 6.5% 93.2% 33.1%
92. Paine College Georgia 3.7% 0.2% 96.9% 2.9% 24.6%
93. Fort Valley State U. Georgia 3.7% 0.2% 95.3% 4.5% 26.5%
94. Alice Lloyd College Kentucky 1.3% 0.0% 2.2% 97.8% 22.2%
94. Florida Memorial U. Florida 2.6% 0.0% 98.9% 1.1% 25.0%
Over all for the 95 most-selective four-year colleges 17.6% 31.0% 51.4% 19.9%
Over all for 2,333 four-year colleges United States 5.2% 7.0% 33.2% 59.8% 55.9%

Note: Colleges are ranked by the percentage of Asian undergraduate enrollment. For the purposes of this table, “highly selective colleges” were those that accepted 33.3 percent or fewer of their applicants in 2016. Colleges with fewer than 500 undergraduates or fewer than 100 first-time students admitted in the fall of 2016 were excluded from the list of highly selective colleges but were included in the U.S. total figures. Percentages of Asians, other minorities, and whites were calculated by dividing their numbers into the total number of full-time and part-time undergraduate students minus the numbers of nonresident aliens and people whose race was unknown. Percentages are rounded, but institutions were ranked before rounding. Only degree-granting public and private nonprofit institutions that were eligible for Title IV federal financial aid were included. Percentages of Asian residents by state are based on five-year estimates of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012-2016 American Community Survey. Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to Ruth Hammond.

Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data

A version of this article appeared in the September 14, 2018, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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