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

Danville, Virginia

57%
58%

Washington, District Of Columbia

58%

Melbourne, Florida

58%

Springfield, Missouri

58%
58%

Moore, Oklahoma

58%

Reading, Pennsylvania

58%
58%
58%

Lakewood, New Jersey

58%

New Haven, Connecticut

59%

Macon, Georgia

59%

Bronx, New York

59%

Salisbury, North Carolina

59%

Cincinnati, Ohio

59%

Bluefield, Virginia

59%

Bethany, West Virginia

59%

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.