The Hardest College to Get Into in Every State

Washington and Lee University, founded in 1749, was named after George Washington, who made an endowment to the school, and Confederate general Robert E. Lee, who became president of the college after the Civil War. Greek life plays a big role in the social environment of the school, with 80% of students belonging to fraternities and sororities. Author Tom Wolfe and explorer Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition are among the school’s notable alumni.

Founded in 1861, University of Washington is one of the oldest public universities in the western United States and one of the largest schools on the list. The university’s main campus is in Seattle.

Davis & Elkins College is a private institution of higher learning affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Elkins, West Virginia, which is near the Maryland border. It is one of the smaller colleges on the list, with total undergraduate enrollment of 756 students.

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s children’s hospital was the site of the first bone marrow transplant in 1968. Twenty alumni have won a Nobel prize. Novelist Joyce Carol Oates, progressive politician Robert M. La Follette, and architect Frank Lloyd Wright are among the school’s alumni.

The University of Wyoming, founded in 1886, is located in Laramie and is situated between two mountain ranges. The school is the only four-year university in Wyoming, and at 96%, it has the highest acceptance rate on the list. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is a UW alumnus.