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

Point Lookout, Missouri

12%

St. Louis, Missouri

12%

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

12%

Haverford, Pennsylvania

12%

Claremont, California

13%

Washington, District Of Columbia

13%

Lewiston, Maine

13%

Davidson, North Carolina

13%

New Orleans, Louisiana

14%

Wellesley, Massachusetts

14%

Hamilton, New York

14%

Clinton, New York

14%

Glen Cove, New York

14%

Lexington, Virginia

14%

Grinnell, Iowa

15%

Middletown, Connecticut

16%

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

16%

Oakland, California

17%

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.