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

Brunswick, Maine

7%

Waterville, Maine

7%

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

7%

Evanston, Illinois

8%

Williamstown, Massachusetts

8%

Houston, Texas

8%

Amherst, Massachusetts

9%

New York, New York

9%

Ithaca, New York

9%

New York, New York

9%

New York, New York

9%

Claremont, California

10%

Los Angeles, California

10%

Atlanta, Georgia

11%

Notre Dame, Indiana

11%

Boston, Massachusetts

11%

Medford, Massachusetts

11%

Middlebury, Vermont

11%

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.