college admissions results 2026
Research and passion projects are shown to have a material impact on college applications. They help you craft your personal narrative and tell your story in a way that grades and test scores cannot. The 677 Polygence alumni that graduated high school in 2026 and responded to our survey are proof that passion projects can play a role in being accepted to your dream school.
2015
acceptance letters
from
282
universities
5.9x
greater admissions chances at Top 25 Schools
$19M
earned in academic scholarships by our students collectively
Polygence acceptance rate to Ivies
Polygence alumni have earned acceptances across all eight Ivy League universities, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, and Penn, after completing their research mentorship program.
23.2%
of polygence alums who applied to ivies were accepted to one or more
5.4%
average national acceptance rate to ivies
Cornell University
28.9%
polygence acceptance rate to Cornell - which is 3.5x the average 8.4% acceptance rate
Brown University
16.3%
polygence acceptance rate to Brown - which is 3.1x the average 5.4% acceptance rate
Polygence acceptance rate to Top Engineering Schools
Polygence alumni have earned acceptances at many of the nation’s leading engineering and technology programs, including MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Georgia Tech, and Purdue, by building their hands-on work experience through research projects.
60.5%
of polygence alums who applied to top engineering schools were accepted to one or more
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
25%
polygence acceptance rate to Caltech - which is 6.6x higher than caltech's 3.8% acceptance rate
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
14.3%
polygence acceptance rate to MIT - which is 3.1x higher than MIT's 4.6% acceptance rate
Carnegie Mellon University
33.3%
polygence acceptance rate to Carnegie Mellon - which is 3x higher than Carnegie Mellon's 11.1% acceptance rate
Check out our full 2026 College Admissions Report to read more about our alumni's success!
Download the reportPolygence acceptance rate to Top UC Schools
Many Polygence students have their sights set on West Coast schools after exploring their research opportunities. About half of our alumni applied to at least one school in the University of California System.
272
acceptance to the top uc schools this year
82.3%
polygence alumni acceptance rate to top uc schools
UC Berkeley
31.3%
polygence acceptance rate to Berkeley - which is 2.7x the average 11.4% acceptance rate
UC Los Angeles (UCLA)
28.8%
polygence acceptance rate to UCLA - which is 3.1x the average 9% acceptance rate
Polygence acceptance rate to Top 25 Schools
Top 25 Universities based on US News & World Report ranking.
51.2%
polygence alumni acceptance rate into top 25 schools
Stanford
17.6%
polygence acceptance rate to Stanford - which is 4.9x the average 3.6% acceptance rate
Vanderbilt
28%
polygence acceptance rate to Vanderbilt - which is 6.9x the average 4.1% acceptance rate
Johns Hopkins
13.2%
polygence acceptance rate to Johns Hopkins - which is 2.6x the average 5% acceptance rate
Polygence Results for U.S. News Rank Top 50 Universities
| University | U.S. News Rank | Applied | Accepted | Polygence Acceptance Rate | General College Acceptance Rate | Increased Odds of Admission Conferred by Polygence Projects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton University | 1 | 24 | 2 | 8.3% | 4.4% | 1.9 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 2 | 21 | 3 | 14.3% | 4.6% | 3.1 |
| Harvard University | 3 | 44 | 4 | 9.1% | 3.6% | 2.5 |
| Stanford University | 4 | 91 | 16 | 17.6% | 3.6% | 4.9 |
| Yale University | 5 | 71 | 8 | 11.3% | 4.2% | 2.7 |
| California Institute of Technology (CalTech) | 6 | 12 | 3 | 25.0% | 3.8% | 6.6 |
| Duke University | 6 | 63 | 15 | 23.8% | 4.7% | 5.1 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 6 | 68 | 9 | 13.2% | 5.0% | 2.6 |
| Northwestern University | 6 | 56 | 11 | 19.6% | 7.0% | 2.8 |
| University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) | 10 | 96 | 14 | 14.6% | 5.4% | 2.7 |
| Cornell University | 11 | 76 | 22 | 28.9% | 8.4% | 3.5 |
| University of Chicago | 11 | 44 | 13 | 29.5% | 4.5% | 6.6 |
| Brown University | 13 | 49 | 8 | 16.3% | 5.4% | 3.1 |
| Columbia University | 13 | 37 | 4 | 10.8% | 4.2% | 2.6 |
| Dartmouth College | 15 | 24 | 3 | 12.5% | 5.8% | 2.2 |
| University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | 15 | 139 | 40 | 28.8% | 9.0% | 3.1 |
| University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) | 17 | 163 | 51 | 31.3% | 11.4% | 2.7 |
| Rice University | 18 | 42 | 14 | 33.3% | 7.7% | 4.3 |
| University of Notre Dame | 18 | 17 | 3 | 17.6% | 9.0% | 2.0 |
| Vanderbilt University | 18 | 50 | 14 | 28.0% | 4.1% | 6.9 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 21 | 42 | 14 | 33.3% | 11.1% | 3.0 |
| University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | 21 | 92 | 28 | 30.4% | 16.4% | 1.9 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 21 | 39 | 7 | 17.9% | 11.9% | 1.5 |
| Emory University | 24 | 55 | 19 | 34.5% | 12.3% | 2.8 |
| Georgetown University | 24 | 30 | 6 | 20.0% | 13.0% | 1.5 |
| University of Virginia | 24 | 37 | 13 | 35.1% | 12.5% | 2.8 |
| University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill | 27 | 52 | 27 | 51.9% | 15.3% | 3.4 |
| University of Southern California (USC) | 27 | 85 | 35 | 41.2% | 10.4% | 4.0 |
| University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | 29 | 112 | 56 | 50.0% | 28.1% | 1.8 |
| New York University (NYU) | 30 | 77 | 28 | 36.4% | 7.7% | 4.7 |
| University of Florida (UF) | 30 | 24 | 15 | 62.5% | 19.8% | 3.2 |
| University of Texas Austin (UT Austin) | 30 | 69 | 23 | 33.3% | 22.2% | 1.5 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 33 | 68 | 10 | 14.7% | 12.8% | 1.1 |
| University of California Davis (UCD) | 35 | 76 | 45 | 59.2% | 44.6% | 1.3 |
| University of California Irvine (UCI) | 33 | 84 | 35 | 41.7% | 28.7% | 1.5 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) | 33 | 86 | 50 | 58.1% | 36.6% | 1.6 |
| Boston College | 37 | 30 | 5 | 16.7% | 12.7% | 1.3 |
| Tufts University | 37 | 37 | 8 | 21.6% | 10.0% | 2.2 |
| University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) | 39 | 73 | 45 | 61.6% | 38.2% | 1.6 |
| University of Wisconsin - Madison | 39 | 42 | 25 | 59.5% | 40.8% | 1.5 |
| Boston University | 41 | 57 | 28 | 49.1% | 12.8% | 3.8 |
| Ohio State University | 41 | 21 | 20 | 95.2% | 60.5% | 1.6 |
| Rutgers University | 41 | 30 | 27 | 90.0% | 58.2% | 1.5 |
| University of Maryland | 44 | 42 | 28 | 66.7% | 34.0% | 2.0 |
| University of Rochester | 44 | 17 | 13 | 76.5% | 36.0% | 2.1 |
| Lehigh University | 46 | 7 | 7 | 100.0% | 25.0% | 4.0 |
| Purdue University | 46 | 67 | 50 | 74.6% | 43.4% | 1.7 |
| University of Georgia | 46 | 17 | 13 | 76.5% | 29.8% | 2.6 |
| University of Washington | 46 | 69 | 40 | 58.0% | 43.0% | 1.3 |
| Wake Forest University | 46 | 5 | 2 | 40.0% | 20.4% | 2.0 |
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