What separates accepted vs. rejected applicants at liberal arts colleges? Not the same things as at research universities. We pooled 520 decisions from 174 applicants at 23 selective liberal arts colleges, from self-reported 2026 results on r/collegeresults. Grades mattered a lot, SAT scores barely did, a quarter of all decisions ended on the waitlist, and research, the activity applicants are told to chase, came with a lower admit rate.
"Selective liberal arts colleges" here means schools the Carnegie Classification lists as arts-and-sciences-focused baccalaureate colleges, with an official admit rate under 20%. The U.S. service academies are left out, since admission there runs through congressional nominations. No single college has enough posts for its own write-up, so they're pooled, the same way we pooled the Ivy League. This is part of our larger comparison of accepted vs. rejected applicants at top colleges, which explains how the data was collected.
How to read these numbers
The 174 applicants were admitted in 184 of 520 decisions (35%). These colleges admit about 11% of applicants on average. That gap is who posts: strong applicants with good news are more likely to share results. So don't read 35% as your odds. Read the gaps between groups instead.
Every comparison below was checked against school mix: the groups being compared applied to colleges with nearly identical average official admit rates (10.6% to 11.5%), so no gap is explained by one group aiming lower.
College by college
| College | Official admit rate | Admitted in this sample | Waitlisted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williams | 8.3% | 18 of 57 | 11 |
| Amherst | 9.0% | 15 of 54 | 15 |
| Swarthmore | 7.5% | 11 of 42 | 7 |
| Pomona | 7.1% | 10 of 38 | 4 |
| Bowdoin | 7.1% | 11 of 30 | 5 |
| Wesleyan | 16.5% | 10 of 30 | 9 |
| Middlebury | 10.8% | 14 of 29 | 4 |
| Colby | 7.1% | 5 of 25 | 10 |
| Wellesley | 14.1% | 10 of 24 | 9 |
| Colgate | 13.9% | 10 of 24 | 5 |
| Hamilton | 13.6% | 13 of 23 | 6 |
| Vassar | 18.6% | 12 of 23 | 3 |
| Harvey Mudd | 12.7% | 10 of 22 | 3 |
| Claremont McKenna | 9.6% | 5 of 15 | 4 |
| Bates | 13.3% | 4 of 15 | 9 |
| Barnard | 8.8% | 4 of 12 | 3 |
| Holy Cross | 17.6% | 4 of 12 | 8 |
| Denison | 17.4% | 6 of 11 | 4 |
| Haverford | 12.4% | 3 of 10 | 4 |
| Davidson | 13.4% | 1 of 7 | 5 |
| Washington and Lee | 14.0% | 2 of 6 | 4 |
| Grinnell | 14.5% | 3 of 6 | 2 |
| Colorado College | 18.5% | 3 of 5 | 2 |
A quarter of decisions were waitlists
136 of the 520 decisions (26%) were waitlists, and 136 of the 336 non-admits. That's a higher share than in any other group of schools we've pooled, including the Ivies (18%). It was especially heavy at Colby (10 of 25), Bates (9 of 15), Holy Cross (8 of 12) and Amherst (15 of 54).
One likely reason: small colleges have to predict their yield precisely, because a few dozen extra students can overfill a dorm or a first-year seminar. A long waitlist is how they manage that risk, which is also why most waitlisted students don't end up getting in. If you land on one, our waitlist strategy guide covers what actually helps.
Grades mattered; the SAT didn't
| Unweighted GPA | Admitted in this sample | Decisions (people) |
|---|---|---|
| Below 3.9 | 26.4% | 148 (45) |
| 3.9-3.99 | 40.8% | 125 (41) |
| 4.0 | 50.9% | 110 (45) |
Admit rates climbed steadily with GPA, and a 4.0 came with nearly twice the rate of a sub-3.9. That's one of the steepest GPA climbs in our data.
SAT scores barely mattered. Where scores were sent, applicants below 1530 were admitted 35.1% of the time, 1530-1560 at 34.3%, and 1570-1600 at 36.8%. At research universities, the SAT climbed band by band; at these colleges, it was flat. An ACT 36 did come with a higher rate (52.4% versus 34.1%), but that's 14 people.
What showed up more among liberal arts admits
Admit rate within the sample, for decisions where the applicant listed each item, versus decisions where they didn't:
- Scouting or civic groups: 50.0% versus 30.9% (38 people).
- National Merit: 45.5% versus 32.2% (47 people).
- An arts or writing award: 44.0% versus 32.9% (44 people).
- Clubs and honor societies: 41.7% versus 28.3% (101 people).
- Tutoring or teaching: 41.5% versus 31.0% (67 people).
- Debate, speech or Model UN: 41.5% versus 33.0% (43 people).
- A paid job: 41.0% versus 31.9% (66 people).
The common thread is involvement in a community: civic groups, clubs, teaching, debate, work. That fits how liberal arts colleges describe themselves, as small residential communities built around discussion. The clubs result is the opposite of what we saw at UNC Chapel Hill and Cornell, where honor societies showed up more among non-admits.
Research came with a lower admit rate
- Research: 28.7% with it, versus 39.9% without (73 people listed it).
- A research publication or paper award: 21.4% versus 35.8% (7 people).
- Community service: 32.0% versus 40.2%.
The research result is the most surprising in the data, and it isn't a STEM-major effect. Among applicants with a STEM major, those who listed research were admitted 28.7% of the time versus 33.3% for those who didn't. Among everyone else, 28.7% versus 45.3%. Research doesn't hurt an application, and this data can't say why it came out behind. But it's a clear contrast with Georgia Tech, UIUC and the Ivies, where research lined up with admission. If you're aiming at liberal arts colleges, a research program isn't the shortcut it's often sold as; we cover the pay-to-publish industry in do high schoolers need research for admissions.
By intended major, social sciences (41.9% versus 30.8%) and business or economics applicants did best, and biology and health applicants did worst (26.6% versus 38.1%).
International applicants faced long odds
Just 13.6% of decisions for international applicants were admits (15 people), versus 37.4% for everyone else. That's a small group, but the gap is large. Many colleges consider financial need when admitting international students, even where they're need-blind for U.S. applicants, which limits how many they can take; a few, such as Amherst, are need-blind for everyone. Check each college's own policy before you apply.
What liberal arts applicants can take from this
- Your GPA matters more than your SAT here. A 4.0 came with twice the admit rate of a sub-3.9; SAT bands were flat.
- Show how you take part in a community. Clubs, civic groups, teaching, debate and jobs lined up with admission.
- Don't count on research. It came with a lower rate in this sample.
- Expect waitlists. A quarter of decisions here were waitlists, more than anywhere else in our data.
Wondering whether a liberal arts college is the right fit at all? See are liberal arts colleges worth it, and if you're thinking about engineering or another specialty, majoring outside a school's specialty.
Sources
- College Intel's tally of self-reported r/collegeresults posts, 2026 admissions cycle (445 posts logged as of Oct 17, 2026; 520 decisions at 23 selective liberal arts colleges from 174 applicants). Recruited athletes and transfer applicants excluded. Aggregates only; no individual post is reproduced, and no figure rests on fewer than 3 people.
- Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, basic classification "Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus," as recorded in the College Scorecard
- College Scorecard -- U.S. Department of Education (official admission rates)