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 |
|---|---|
|
Marywood University
Scranton, Pennsylvania |
61% |
|
University of Valley Forge
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania |
61% |
|
Maryville College
Maryville, Tennessee |
61% |
|
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
61% |
|
The King's University
Southlake, California |
61% |
|
Stillman College
Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
62% |
|
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, California |
62% |
|
Vanguard University of Southern California
Costa Mesa, California |
62% |
|
American University
Washington, District Of Columbia |
62% |
|
Agnes Scott College
Decatur, Georgia |
62% |
|
LaGrange College
Lagrange, Georgia |
62% |
|
Reinhardt University
Waleska, Georgia |
62% |
|
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York |
62% |
|
Queens University of Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina |
62% |
|
Mid Atlantic Christian University
Elizabeth City, North Carolina |
62% |
|
University of Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma |
62% |
|
Chatham University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
62% |
|
Saint Vincent College
Latrobe, Pennsylvania |
62% |
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.