A ONE Institute
Oct 9, 2024
Today, I’ll be sharing a post about what rank you need to be in at your school to get into a Top 20 university.
Many students and parents aim for admission to Top 20 universities in the United States, and my YouTube videos also focus on these schools. However, many viewers have expressed surprise at just how challenging it is to gain admission to these Top 20 universities.
So today, I want to break down how to prepare and assess your chances of aiming for a Top 20 university, using numbers to give you a more quantitative perspective.
Many of you may have seen students with impressive credentials fail to gain admission to a Top 20 university and may wonder:
Is it essential to have awards to be competitive for a Top 20 university?
Do you need to take many AP courses to apply?
If you aren't particularly outstanding in music or sports, should you give up?
Is it impossible to get into a Top 20 university with just academics?
To answer these questions quantitatively, I’ve compiled data on the number of students admitted to the Top 20 universities, from ranks 1 to 20. While the numbers change slightly each year, the variations aren’t significant, so you might find it useful to look at the list of Top 20 universities for 2027, along with tables showing the number of admitted students, separated into domestic and international categories.
Keep in mind that, depending on their circumstances, some students living in the U.S. may apply as international students, which can introduce some variability. Thus, I will base my explanations on the overall number of admitted students.
Each year, around 45,974 students gain admission to a Top 20 university. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there are approximately 4,500,000 high school graduates in the U.S. each year, including students from both public and private schools. Based on the NCES data, I’ll use statistics from 2021, which align closely with current numbers.
With about 4.5 million high school graduates per year and around 46,000 students admitted to Top 20 universities, this means you generally need to be within the top 1% to be competitive for admission to a Top 20 university. For example, if there are 800 students in your high school class, you’d need to be in the top 8 students; if there are 500, you’d need to be in the top 5.
Of course, the situation is more complex than just these numbers. To give a clearer explanation, I’ll break it down using the numbers of public and private schools. Among the 46,000 admitted students, about 9% (around 4,140 students) are recruited for their talents in sports or music. This means that if you’re aiming for admission, you should focus on the remaining 41,860 spots.
Assuming that a student attends a high school in the U.S., they should aim to be among the top 41,860 students, excluding those recruited for sports or music. There are over 98,000 public schools in the U.S., including 23,519 public high schools and 3,626 private high schools, totaling 27,145 high schools.
Based on my analysis of data and my experience running an educational institute in the U.S. for many years, roughly half of these 27,145 high schools—about 13,573 schools—will not have a single student admitted to a Top 20 university, even if a student ranks first in their class. So, we’ll exclude those 13,573 schools and focus on the remaining 13,573 schools where students have a realistic chance of admission.
Among these schools, approximately 6%—around 814 schools—tend to produce a significant number of Top 20 admits. These schools might send more than 20 students to a Top 20 university each year, while schools ranking lower might send fewer than 20. On average, about 20 students per year gain admission to a Top 20 university from these 814 schools. This means that if each of these 814 schools sends 20 students, around 16,280 students will gain admission.
From the remaining 12,759 schools, each sends about 2 students on average, resulting in about 25,518 additional admits. When we add 16,280 and 25,518, the total comes to about 41,798, which aligns with the initial estimate of 41,860.
According to NCES statistics, private schools account for around 13% of all high schools. Among the top 6% of schools (the 814 schools), approximately 708 are public, and 106 are private. In our videos, we’ve often explained how GPA standards differ between high-ranking and lower-ranking high schools. These calculations support the advice that being in a school within the top 700 can be considered attending a good school.
In other words, if you are in the top 20% of your class at a high school ranked within the top 700, you might consider applying to a Top 20 university. If you attend one of the 106 private schools, being among the top 20 students would make you a strong candidate. However, in highly competitive schools, the “top 20 students” aren’t just ranked by GPA—they are often selected based on their contributions and leadership in school activities.
For students at lower-ranking schools, being among the top 2 students is more likely to be competitive. It’s advantageous if you’ve held leadership roles like being the student council president, achieved state-level recognition in music or sports, or won awards in events like science fairs. Even if you maintain a top-3 GPA in your class, you need to consider how your other achievements will be evaluated alongside your academic record.
As you assess whether you are a good candidate for Top 20 schools, consider the relative standing of your high school. Depending on its ranking, gauge whether you should aim to be among the top 20 or top 2 at your school, and work on building a strong profile through various activities.
The statistics mentioned today are based solely on the number of students in the U.S., so the competition becomes even tougher when including international students.
I hope today’s explanation has helped you understand the level of commitment required and the standards you should aim for if you’re targeting a Top 20 university.
If you’re aiming for a Top 20 university, having a long-term plan and working with us, A-One Institute, could be beneficial. We offer many online courses, so you can access most of the classes you need. Feel free to reach out with any inquiries, and we’ll be happy to assist you.