Minnesota’s Hardest Colleges To Get Into

While the Land of 10,000 Lakes isn't home to any Ivy League schools, there are some pretty great public and private colleges and universities in Minnesota.

Minnesota is consistently named one of the most educated states in the country, with a good reputation around the country when it comes to younger levels of learning from elementary school through high school. Additionally, over half of the state's adults have at least an associate's degree.

The North Star State has a lot of great options with high standards for academics when it comes to higher education. Some are easier to get into than others, however.

In a ranking of the hardest schools to get into from Niche, the schools with the lowest acceptance rates in Minnesota include both some private and public schools. Here's a look at the top 4.

4 Minnesota Colleges & Universities That Are The Hardest To Get Into

#4 University of Minnesota Crookston - Crookston, MN

Part of the University of Minnesota system which also includes their Twin Cities campus, Duluth campus, Morris campus, and Rochester campus, the Crookston campus is among the state's higher education institutions with the lowest acceptance rate.

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Niche ranks Crookston very highly in academics, value, safety, diversity, and the school's dorms. Additionally, it is ranked one of the 50 best small colleges in the United States.

READ MORE: These are the toughest schools to get into across the border in Wisconsin

Getting into The U of M Crookston isn't necessarily easy, however. Their acceptance rate is 48%. Compare that to the U of M Twin Cities campus and its 73% acceptance rate, and that's a big difference.

#3 St. Olaf College - Northfield, MN

St. Olaf is ranked among the 5 best Christian colleges in the United States, with Niche giving the school high report card marks in academics, their campus, diversity, and campus food options.

In addition to those notes, St. Olaf is also ranked among the 20 best schools with no application fee in the country.

The acceptance rate for St. Olaf is 47%, making it the third-hardest school to get into in Minnesota.

#2 Macalester College - St. Paul, MN

Macalester is rated by Niche as the best college in Minnesota, earning excellent marks in their report card in academics, diversity, value, student life, safety, professors, and location.

Niche also ranks Macalester among the best schools in the country in the categories of Best Colleges with No Application Fee (#3), Best Liberal Arts Colleges (#14), and Best Small Colleges in America (#15).

While it is the best-rated college in the state, getting into classes at this Twin Cities campus is the second hardest in the state with an acceptance rate of 31%.

#1 Carleton College - Northfield, MN

We head back to Northfield for the top school on this list. While Niche ranks it second overall among colleges in Minnesota (behind Macalester), it is tougher to get into than all other Minnesota schools.

On their report card, Niche gives Carleton high marks in academics, value, diversity, and professors.

The acceptance rate for Carleton College is only 18%, coming in 13 percentage points lower than the next school on this list.