---
title: The Top 10 Universities To Find Software Engineers, According to Recruiters
description: Ranking technical talent from the 2018-2019 hiring season.
image: https://8139278.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8139278/Imported_Blog_Media/795403bf-original.jpe
---
# The Top 10 Universities To Find Software Engineers, According to Recruiters
[ ](https://ripplematch.com/insights/author/kate-beckman)
Kate Beckman
Jul 22, 2019
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Where can you find top entry-level software engineers and software developers? Try Pittsburgh.
Data pulled from RippleMatch’s recruiting platform reveals Carnegie Mellon University as the No. 1 place to find entry-level software engineers. The finding comes from analyzing the interactions between recruiters and candidates on our platform over the course of the 2018-2019 hiring season.
RippleMatch automatically matches qualified candidates with entry-level positions and screens candidates for initial interest. After reviewing candidates' profiles, recruiters that use our platform are able to reject or accept matched candidates into their interview process. Analyzing data across interactions, we found that students from certain universities were much more likely to to receive a first round interview for a software engineering role than students from other universities. We consider the universities that saw the highest rate of candidates “accepted” into a company’s interview process by recruiters as the top schools. Here are the top 10:
**1. Carnegie Mellon University – 74% of Carnegie Mellon Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,896
[Admissions Acceptance Rate](https://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/undergraduate-admission-statistics): 9.6%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/carnegie-mellon-university-3242): #25
**2. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill – 69% of UNC Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Undergraduate Enrollment: 18,861
[Admissions Acceptance Rate](https://admissions.unc.edu/apply/class-profile-2/): 22%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/unc-2974): #30
**3. Howard University – 68% of Howard Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Washington, DC
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,354
[Admissions Acceptance Rate](https://www2.howard.edu/admission/undergraduate/counselors): 32%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/howard-university-1448): #89
**4. Georgia Institute of Technology – 64% of Georgia Tech Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Atlanta, GA
Undergraduate Enrollment: 15,573
[Admissions Acceptance Rate](https://www.news.gatech.edu/2019/03/09/next-class-yellow-jackets-gets-admission-decisions): 19%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/georgia-institute-of-technology-1569): #35
**4. Columbia University – 64% of Columbia Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: New York, NY
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,162
Admissions Acceptance Rate: 5.5%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/columbia-university-2707): #3
**6. Harvard University – 63% of Harvard Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Cambridge, MA
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,766
[Admissions Acceptance Rate](https://www.boston.com/news/education/2018/03/29/harvard-acceptance-rate-2018): 4.59%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/harvard-university-2155): #2
**6. Stanford University – 63% of Stanford Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Stanford, CA
Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,062
Admissions Acceptance Rate: 4% (Stanford University has[ since announced](https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/30/stanford-university-will-no-longer-publicize-admissions-rate-in-effort-to-end-race-for-low-numbers/) it will no longer publicize its acceptance rate)
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/stanford-university-1305): #7
**8. University of California, Davis – 60% of UC Davis Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Davis, CA
Undergraduate Enrollment: 30,145
[Admissions Acceptance Rate](http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/davis/freshman-profile/index.html): 41%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-california-davis-1313): #38
**9. University of California, Santa Cruz – 59% of UC Santa Cruz Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Undergraduate Enrollment: 17,577
[Admissions Acceptance Rate](https://admissions.ucsc.edu/why-ucsc/facts.html): 52%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-california-santa-cruz-1321): #70
**10. ****University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign – 58% of University of Illinois Candidates Accepted by Recruiters**
Location: Champaign, IL
Undergraduate Enrollment: 33,955
[Admissions Acceptance Rate](https://www.niche.com/colleges/university-of-illinois-at-urbana-champaign/admissions/): 62%
[2019 US News Ranking](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-illinois-urbanachampaign-1775): #46
*If you’re looking for more information on diverse hiring in STEM fields, download our infographic on the *[*top schools graduating the most female computer science majors*](https://resources.ripplematch.com/schools-with-the-most-female-computer-science-majors)*. You may also be interested in our *[*infographic on the top HBCUs with the best STEM programs*](https://resources.ripplematch.com/top-hbcu-stem-programs)* or our *[*infographic on the HBCUs with top computer science programs*](https://resources.ripplematch.com/top-hbcu-computer-science-programs)*. *
*This post has been updated to include data from the entire 2018-2019 hiring cycle.*
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