My top 11 picks for Kentucky range from tiny Kentucky Wesleyan College with just over 800 students to the University of Kentucky with an enrollment of over 27,000. My top picks include public, private, religious and secular schools. The admissions standards for these 11 schools vary widely, so be sure to click through to the profiles for more admissions information. The schools were chosen based on first-year retention rates, four- and six-year graduation rates, notable academic strengths, value, and student engagement. See my list of the top Kentucky colleges to find out who made the cut.

To get a partial sense of what it takes to get into some of Kentucky's four-year colleges and universities, I've created side-by-side comparison charts of Kentucky SAT scores and Kentucky ACT scores for the middle 50% of matriculated students.

Is there another Kentucky college that you think deserves to be on the list? If so, use the comment link below to share your recommendations. I'm a firm believer that the "best" college for your interests, goals and personality may have little to do with my own selection criteria.

If you're interested in exploring a larger geographic area than Kentucky, you can also explore my picks for the region: Top South Central Colleges and Top Midwest Colleges.

National Top Picks:

• Top Universities
• Top Liberal Arts Colleges
• Top Public Universities
• Top Engineering Schools
• Top Business Schools
• Top Women's Colleges
• Top Catholic Colleges

With over 32,000 students, Boston University is one of the larger private universities in the country, but with a 13 to 1 student / faculty ratio it still manages to keep most classes small and the graduation rate high.

Located in the Fenway and Kenmore Square neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts, BU can be an excellent choice for students looking for a comprehensive university in an urban environment.

To see the sights and learn more about the university, check out this Boston University photo tour. The images and descriptions come from Katie Doyle and Marisa Benjamin, two Boston University students.

If you want horses to be a big part of your college experience, check out these 20 top equestrian colleges. These schools have strong equine education programs, and at most you'll find majors or minors in equestrian studies, equine science, equine management, or other horse-related fields. Many also have winning equestrian teams and state-of-the-art equine facilities.

Of course the United States has far more than 20 excellent colleges for horse lovers, so we've created an article where readers can recommend colleges that did not make our list.

Pennsylvania is home to some amazing colleges and universities including one Ivy League school and several of the country's top public universities, private universities, and private liberal arts colleges. To see if you're on target for admission to some of the state's top schools, check out these graphs of GPA, SAT score and ACT score data for admitted, waitlisted and rejected students:
Allegheny | Bryn Mawr | Bucknell | Carnegie Mellon | Dickinson | Franklin & Marshall | Gettysburg | Grove City | Haverford | Juniata | Lafayette | Lehigh | Muhlenberg | Penn | Penn State | Pitt | Swarthmore | Ursinus | Villanova