Methodology

24/7 Wall St. reviewed higher education data from the National Center for Education Statistics to determine the most selective public or private four-year, degree-granting institution in each state. We indexed both acceptance rates and SAT test scores of admitted students to measure the difficulty of being accepted. The annual net price listed is for full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state or in-district tuition rate who received grant or scholarship aid from federal, state, local, or institutional sources, and is generated by subtracting the amount of aid from the total cost of attendance, which is the sum of published tuition, required fees, books and supplies, the average room and board, and other expenses.