Swarthmore is a small liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia. The college was founded by Quakers in 1864, and is a private non-religious school with an emphasis on melding the arts and humanities with STEM pursuits like engineering. There are more than 40 courses of study open to the 1,730 undergraduate students, and two-thirds of students take part in undergraduate research or independent creative projects. It also doesn’t hurt that the campus is simply stunning in all four seasons. Swarthmore has become immensely popular in recent years, transitioning from a selective college to an exceptionally difficult school to get into. The acceptance rate is only 7.5%.

Claremont McKenna College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Sometimes called CMC, the college is part of the Claremont Colleges consortium, which means students can take classes, use resources and share spaces with Pomona College, Scripps College, Harvey Mudd College, and Pitzer College. It’s a pretty great deal for students who want to go to a high-ranking liberal arts school but also want to access a larger network of students and opportunities.

UNC Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The university is home to over 20,000 undergraduate students, and has a strong emphasis on global education and pre-professional opportunities. There are 82 bachelor’s programs, and one of the most enthusiastic athletics fanbases in the country. Getting into UNC Chapel Hill is difficult, especially if you are from outside of the state. They received over 63,000 applications for the class of 2028, and only accept about 17% of applicants averaging out across in-state and out-of-state prospective students. This number is kept low partially due to a 1986 policy that mandates that UNC system schools may not have more than 18% out-of-state students in any first-year class. Students making up that 18% come from 100 countries!

You are probably thinking, “Wait, but Oberlin doesn’t have a supplement?” Ok, you got us, but stay with us for a sec. Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the US and almost as old as the state of Ohio. While many people are familiar with them because of their impressive conservatory of music, there is a lot to love about Oberlin. If you are looking for an artsy, liberal, and surprisingly down-to-earth small-school experience, Oberlin is a great choice. They are currently test-optional through 2025, and last year, they had around a 33% acceptance rate for both the liberal arts school and the music conservatory. But back to their non-supplement.

Vanderbilt University is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee’s historic midtown neighborhood. Vanderbilt has always been an elite school, but over the last couple of years, it has seen a surge in popularity. It makes sense. Vandy slays. It has strong academics, boasts great sports, and is in one of America’s most fun cities. Plus Vanderbilt is test-optional and is committed to need-blind financial aid.

Pitzer is a small liberal arts college with big resources thanks to The Claremont Colleges. This consortium of seven colleges in the Los Angeles area. Together, the five undergraduate colleges in the consortium (Pitzer, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Scripps) are able to offer nationally-recognized academic opportunities and resources within the small liberal arts framework they treasure. Pitzer had a 16% acceptance rate for the class of 2027 and a 24% acceptance rate for the class of 2028.

Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas has 150 years of history as a university centered on helping students become “ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.”  The school is fairly selective, with an acceptance rate a little over 50%. The Honors programs at TCU are highly-respected and only about 275 first-year Honors students are admitted annually, compared to nearly 11,000 undergraduate students overall. Well-performing students often look to the TCU Honors program as a strong option in their college admissions journey. The average GPA of incoming honors students is 3.8, and students represent 15+ countries. TCU is also a member of the Big 12 athletic conference, making it very popular among elite athletes who also want a rigorous academic experience.

Notre Dame is a famed research university with a strong religious backbone. The school is welcoming to students of all faiths, traditions, and backgrounds, but it’s Catholic character “informs all it does.” There are more than 40 priests in residence, and more than 100 masses are celebrated each week at more than 50 on-campus chapels. They don’t consider any of this to be in conflict with being a globally-renowned scientific research institution. At Notre Dame, the pursuit of truth in the lab, in the classroom, and in oneself is considered a practice of faith. The university has steadily risen in popularity, and the acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was only 11%.

Davidson College is an elite, small liberal arts college located in Davidson (original), North Carolina, about 30 minutes from Charlotte. Side note, North Carolina’s kinda got some banger colleges (UNC, Wake Forest, Duke). Anyways, with under 2,000 undergrads, you can imagine that Davidson is hard to get into – they boast a 14% acceptance rate. That means you need to do everything you can to write amazing supplements to help you stand out among the crowd.

Northwestern is a prestigious research university with about 8,000 undergraduates that encourages interdisciplinary learning, exploration, and the sort of exploration often thought of as unique to liberal arts colleges. The school has become iconic for offering students opportunity to both explore intellectually and develop practically. Northwestern is ranked in the top 10 in the country, and the acceptance rate is only about 7%. They receive around 50,000 applications annually, so figuring out how to stand out in that pool is crucial.