- There are plenty of college rankings and ways to find out the best colleges in the US.
- These colleges enroll the smartest students in the country, according to SAT and ACT scores.
- California Institute of Technology took the top spot, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Which schools have the brightest young minds in the nation?
To find out, we asked Jonathan Wai, Assistant Professor and Endowed Chair at the University of Arkansas. He created a ranking exclusively for Business Insider of the smartest US colleges and universities based on the schools' average standardized test scores.
While these tests are often criticized, research shows that both the SAT and ACT are good measures of general cognitive ability, since they rely on a person's ability to reason. Therefore, these scores give a reasonable snapshot of a school’s overall smarts.
This ranking included all the schools that report average SAT and ACT scores to the government. ACT scores were converted to the SAT scale for the purposes of this analysis.
See more detail on methods and limitations here.
Once again, the Pasadena-based California Institute of Technology took the top spot on the list, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, University of Chicago, Vanderbilt University, and Yale University rounded out the top five schools.
Keep scrolling to see the 50 smartest colleges in America.
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50. Jewish Theological Seminary of America — Average SAT: 1363
- Location: New York City
- Student population: 16,655
- Tuition: $21,160
- Best known for: A Conservative Jewish center for research and training, with joint programs at Columbia and Barnard.
50. Colby College — Average SAT: 1363
- Location: Waterville, Maine
- Student population: 1,857
- Tuition: $50,960
- Best known for: The 12th best liberal arts in the country according to U.S. News & World Report.
49. University of Virginia — Average SAT: 1364
- Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
- Student population: 16,655
- Tuition: In-state: $16,144; Out-of-state: $46,634
- Best known for: A top public research university founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider