United States Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 1198 private colleges in the United States with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. California Institute of Technology leads the list by accepting 3% of high school students that applied.

Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.

List of United States Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College Acceptance Rate

Huntsville, Alabama

45%

Los Angeles, California

45%

Waltham, Massachusetts

45%

Omaha, Nebraska

45%

Charlotte, North Carolina

45%

Bennington, Vermont

45%

Takoma Park, Maryland

46%

Syracuse, New York

46%

Los Angeles, California

46%

Angwin, California

47%

Washington, District Of Columbia

47%
47%
47%

Santa Clara, California

48%

Winter Park, Florida

48%

Elgin, Illinois

48%

Sterling, Kansas

48%

Minneapolis, Minnesota

48%

This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.