Below are the acceptance rates for the 1,350 Jefferson college applicants over the past three years at 20 selective schools.

Colleges court Jefferson kids. Last year’s seniors at Jefferson received $7 million in merit-based financial aid—more than $15,000 per student—after being offered $18 million, a record high for the school.

Virginia’s state universities attract the most Jefferson applicants (some see the state schools as “safeties”), but brand-name colleges are the most coveted prize. Students line up in large numbers for these schools, especially the Ivies. This creates friction among Jefferson students, who assume the logjam hurts their chances.

Last year, 174 seniors—nearly 40 percent of the class—applied to Princeton. Only 23 got in—an acceptance rate of 13 percent, just a few points better than the university’s overall acceptance rate of 10 percent.

University of Virginia
Number of Jefferson applicants: 985
Jefferson acceptance rate: 68 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 47 percent*

William & Mary
Number of Jefferson applicants: 612
Jefferson acceptance rate: 84 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 42 percent*

Virginia Tech
Number of Jefferson applicants: 546
Jefferson acceptance rate: 84 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 59 percent*

Princeton
Number of Jefferson applicants: 426
Jefferson acceptance rate: 17 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 10 percent

Duke
Number of Jefferson applicants: 365
Jefferson acceptance rate: 35 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 22 percent

Cornell
Number of Jefferson applicants: 346
Jefferson acceptance rate: 30 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 21 percent

Carnegie Mellon
Number of Jefferson applicants: 299
Jefferson acceptance rate: 57 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 38 percent

MIT
Number of Jefferson applicants: 254
Jefferson acceptance rate: 24 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 12 percent

Harvard
Number of Jefferson applicants: 231
Jefferson acceptance rate: 12 perent
Overall acceptance rate: 8 percent

Stanford
Number of Jefferson applicants: 217
Jefferson acceptance rate: 12 percent
Overall acceptance rate: 10 percent