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

Nashville, Tennessee

69%

Fort Worth, Texas

69%

Temple Terrace, Florida

70%
70%

Franklin, Indiana

70%

Fort Wayne, Indiana

70%

Bar Harbor, Maine

70%

North Andover, Massachusetts

70%

Weston, Massachusetts

70%

Boston, Massachusetts

70%

Kansas City, Missouri

70%

Billings, Montana

70%
70%

Oneonta, New York

70%

Greensboro, North Carolina

70%

Columbus, Ohio

70%

Painesville, Ohio

70%

Brooklyn, New York

70%

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.