Admissions Factors
Colleges That Consider Recommendations
120 of 149 colleges say they weigh recommendations. 44 rate it very important and 29 do not consider it.
Very important (44)
- Amherst
- Barnard College
- Bates
- Bowdoin
- Brown
- California Institute of Technology
- Carleton
- Claremont McKenna
- College of William & Mary
- Columbia
- Cornell
- Dartmouth
- Davidson
- Duke
- Georgetown University
- Grinnell College
- Harvey Mudd
- Haverford
- Hofstra
- Johns Hopkins
- Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
- Miami University-Oxford
- Northeastern
- Northwestern
- Notre Dame
- NYU
- Penn
- Pomona
- Princeton
- Rhode Island
- Rice
- Southern Methodist University
- Stanford University
- Swarthmore
- Syracuse University
- Tufts
- UNC Chapel Hill
- University of Chicago
- USC
- Vassar
- WashU
- Wellesley
- Williams
- Yale University
Important (38)
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Brandeis
- Buffalo
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Case Western
- Colgate
- CU Boulder
- Delaware
- Denver
- DePaul University
- Drexel
- Emory
- George Washington
- Hamilton
- Lehigh
- Michigan
- Middlebury
- MIT
- New Hampshire
- Oberlin
- Ohio State
- Purdue
- Rochester
- RPI
- Stony Brook
- Texas Tech
- The University of Texas at Dallas
- Tulane
- University of Maryland-College Park
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst
- University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
- UW-Madison
- Vanderbilt
- Vermont
- Villanova
- Wake Forest
- Wesleyan
Considered (38)
- Arkansas
- Auburn University
- Baylor
- Binghamton
- Cincinnati
- Clemson
- Colorado State University-Fort Collins
- Florida International University
- George Mason
- Georgia Tech
- Harvard University
- Howard
- Indiana University-Bloomington
- Iowa
- Iowa State
- James Madison
- Kentucky
- Marquette
- Miami
- NC State
- Oregon State University
- Pitt
- Temple
- Texas A&M University-College Station
- Texas Christian University
- The University of Alabama
- The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
- UC Berkeley
- UConn
- UGA
- UIC
- University at Albany
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- University of Oregon
- University of South Carolina-Columbia
- UT Austin
- Utah
- Virginia Commonwealth University
Not considered (29)
- Arizona
- Arizona State University Campus Immersion
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
- California State University-Long Beach
- Florida
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida State University
- Houston
- Kansas
- Michigan State
- Mississippi State University
- Ole Miss
- Penn State
- San Diego State
- San Jose State University
- UC Davis
- UC Irvine
- UC San Diego
- UC Santa Barbara
- UC Santa Cruz
- UCLA
- UIUC
- University of California-Riverside
- University of Central Florida
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- University of South Florida
- UW
- Washington State University
- West Virginia
Frequently asked questions
Which colleges do not consider recommendations?
29 of the 149 colleges here rate it "not considered": Arizona, Arizona State University Campus Immersion, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, California State University-Long Beach, Florida, Florida Atlantic University, Florida State University, Houston, Kansas, Michigan State, Mississippi State University, Ole Miss, Penn State, San Diego State, San Jose State University, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, UIUC, University of California-Riverside, University of Central Florida, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of South Florida, UW, Washington State University, West Virginia.
Which colleges rate recommendations as very important?
44 colleges: Amherst, Barnard College, Bates, Bowdoin, Brown, California Institute of Technology, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, College of William & Mary, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Georgetown University, Grinnell College, Harvey Mudd, Haverford, Hofstra, Johns Hopkins, Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, Miami University-Oxford, Northeastern, Northwestern, Notre Dame, NYU, Penn, Pomona, Princeton, Rhode Island, Rice, Southern Methodist University, Stanford University, Swarthmore, Syracuse University, Tufts, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Chicago, USC, Vassar, WashU, Wellesley, Williams, Yale University.
Each college's own Common Data Set, Section C (first-time, first-year admission). Last checked 2026-10-08. Each rating is the college’s own answer on its Common Data Set. Colleges that left the row blank are left out.
