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
73%

South Orange, New Jersey

73%

Brooklyn, New York

73%

Columbia, South Carolina

73%

Mitchell, South Dakota

73%
73%

Virginia Beach, Virginia

73%

La Mirada, California

74%

Franklin Springs, Georgia

74%

Elmhurst, Illinois

74%

Upland, Indiana

74%

Wichita, Kansas

74%

New Orleans, Louisiana

74%
74%

Emmitsburg, Maryland

74%

Franklin, Massachusetts

74%

Alfred, New York

74%

Raleigh, North Carolina

74%

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.