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

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

59%

Clarksville, Arkansas

60%

West Haven, Connecticut

60%

Dubuque, Iowa

60%

Cambridge, Massachusetts

60%

Worcester, Massachusetts

60%

Tougaloo, Mississippi

60%

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

60%
60%

Wooster, Ohio

60%

McKenzie, Tennessee

60%

Henderson, Tennessee

60%

Jackson, Tennessee

60%
61%

Grayson, Kentucky

61%

Saint Peter, Minnesota

61%

New York, New York

61%

Cleveland, Ohio

61%

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.