WSJ's Best US Colleges 2026 [Based Mostly on Students' Financial Success]

The Chetty study reviewed portion of kids in top 1% at different colleges. While a disproportionately large portion attended Ivy+ colleges, Ivy+ colleges were generally not the ones with highest percentage. The top 3 were by percentage enrollment were Trinity (26%), Colorado (24%), and SMU (23%). In terms colleges with largest number of students from top 1% (colleges top 1% are most likely to attend), there was a good variety of college types. I’d estimate the top colleges were:

Colleges Kids from Top 1% Families Were Most Likely to Attend

  1. NYU
  2. Michigan
  3. SMU
  4. USC
  5. Texas A&M
  6. UT Austin
  7. Penn
  8. TCU
  9. Arizona State
  10. Auburn
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