When they begin their college careers in the fall of 2025, the Class of 2029 will have put in a lot of work to get there. Major colleges nationwide experienced a significant surge in applications, with New York University and the University of Michigan setting new records.
Colleges increasingly opt to use the Common Application, which makes it easier for prospective students to apply to multiple schools. During the 2024-2025 application period, colleges received over 10 million applications, an 8% increase from the previous year. Prospective students applied to an average of 6.80 colleges, increasing schools' applicant pools. Schools must then be even more selective with whom they admit, causing admission rates to decrease.
Schools in big cities, which offer students a sense of community along with the vibrancy of urban life, are no exception. In June 2025, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia announced an acceptance rate of just 4.9%, its most selective year yet. Meanwhile, those who want to study in the Big Apple struggle to get accepted to New York University, which only admits 7.7% of applicants, down from 12.5% for the Class of 2026.
Unfortunately, that's not where the challenges end. Attending college in a big city can be expensive, finding a decent place to live nightmarish, and the pace frenzied. But the payoff can be remarkable. Students gain real-life experience, establish professional contacts, secure internships, and access job opportunities. They can also join urban community projects and participate in inner-city activism, which can be difficult to replicate in a classroom or on a remote bucolic campus.
Some big-city schools emphasize experiential learning, designing curricula that send students into the local workforce to supplement their academics. Living in a big city during college can make it easier to transition into a career based in an urban environment. Many big-city schools take great pride in their high post-graduation employment rates and rates of those going on to graduate or professional schools.
On a less academic note, students in big cities have the opportunity to expand their horizons through the many amenities of their cities, including a wealth of restaurants, bars, brewpubs, world-class museums, and musical performances.
Stacker ranked the best colleges in big cities using 2025 data from Niche. Colleges in the towns with populations of more than 300,000 were considered, drawing data from the Census Bureau. Niche ranks schools based on various factors, including academics, admissions, financial value, and student life. Niche's methodology can be found here.
Read on to learn more about the best big-city schools in the country.
