<p>According to a new USNews ranking …</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> University Is Nation’s Most Popular University - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/01/24/harvard-university-is-nations-most-popular-university]Harvard”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/01/24/harvard-university-is-nations-most-popular-university)</p>
<p>THE TOP 10:</p>
<h1>1Harvard University</h1>
<p>Cambridge, MA</p>
<p>Princeton University
Princeton, NJ</p>
<h1>3Yale University</h1>
<p>New Haven, CT</p>
<h1>4Columbia University</h1>
<p>New York, NY</p>
<h1>5California Institute of Technology</h1>
<p>Pasadena, CA</p>
<h1>5Massachusetts Institute of Technology</h1>
<p>Cambridge, MA</p>
<h1>5Stanford University</h1>
<p>Stanford, CA</p>
<h1>5University of Chicago</h1>
<p>Chicago, IL</p>
<h1>5University of Pennsylvania</h1>
<p>Philadelphia, PA</p>
<h1>10Duke UniversityDurham, NC</h1>
<p>Did you by chance post the best colleges rankings instead? The most popular colleges slideshow is here and doesn’t agree with the list you posted: [Schools</a> With Highest Yield Percentage: 10 Most Popular National Universities - US News & World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/10-most-popular-national-universities]Schools”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/10-most-popular-national-universities)</p>
<p>You are correct. Essentially this is a ranking by yield rate - the number of admits, the number of matriculants, and the yield rate, for the Class of 2014. (Actually, data should now be available for the Class of 2015 -at least for the elites.):</p>
<p>Harvard University 2,205 1,664 75.5%
Brigham Young University–Provo 7,020 5,245 74.7%
Stanford University 2,340 1,674 71.5%
Yeshiva University 1,223 865 70.7%
University of Alaska–Fairbanks 1,547 1,077 69.6%
University of Nebraska–Lincoln 6,089 4,075 66.9%
Georgia Southern University 5,493 3,622 65.9%
Yale University 2,039 1,344 65.9%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1,676 1,067 63.7%
University of Pennsylvania 3,841 2,410 62.7%
University of North Dakota 3,357 2,096 62.4%
University of Nevada–Las Vegas 5,222 3,115 59.7%
Princeton University 2,311 1,312 56.8%
Florida A&M University 4,993 2,815 56.4%
Columbia University 2,498 1,391 55.7%
University of Florida 11,460 6,381 55.7%
University of Memphis 4,381 2,439 55.7%
University of New Orleans 1,933 1,066 55.1%
North Dakota State University 4,400 2,400 54.5%
North Carolina A&T State University 3,814 2,053 53.8%
South Dakota State University 4,205 2,247 53.4%
Brown University 2,815 1,501 53.3%
Louisiana Tech University 3,029 1,600 52.8%
University of Louisiana–Lafayette 5,635 2,955 52.4%
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill 7,557 3,960 52.4%</p>
<p>Pretty interesting mix of top tier schools, state schools, and specialized schools … not even sure how one would generalize the list.</p>
<p>SELECTED ELITES, RANKED BY YIELD - Class of 2015: </p>
<p>Harvard, 76%;
Stanford, 70%;
Yale, 64.17%;
MIT, 64.1%;
Penn, 63.2%;
Princeton, 56.5%;
Brown, 55.9%;
Cornell, 51.3%;
Dartmouth 51.2%;
Duke, 43.6% ;
U of Chicago, 39.9%
Swarthmore, 39.2%;
Northwestern, 38.7%;
JHU, 37%</p>
<p>Not surprised to see Harvard and Stanford at the top. 
And nobody knows Harvard admission officers despise Stanford for taking their beloved applicants!</p>
<p>Well this is shocking :D</p>