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.
| College | Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|
|
Oakwood University
Huntsville, Alabama |
45% |
|
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California |
45% |
|
Bentley University
Waltham, Massachusetts |
45% |
|
College of Saint Mary
Omaha, Nebraska |
45% |
|
Johnson C Smith University
Charlotte, North Carolina |
45% |
|
Bennington College
Bennington, Vermont |
45% |
|
Washington Adventist University
Takoma Park, Maryland |
46% |
|
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York |
46% |
|
The Chicago School at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California |
46% |
|
Pacific Union College
Angwin, California |
47% |
|
George Washington University
Washington, District Of Columbia |
47% |
|
Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland, Ohio |
47% |
|
Brigham Young University Hawaii
Laie, Hawaii |
47% |
|
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California |
48% |
|
Rollins College
Winter Park, Florida |
48% |
|
Judson University
Elgin, Illinois |
48% |
|
Sterling College
Sterling, Kansas |
48% |
|
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
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.