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 |
|---|---|
|
Catawba College
Salisbury, North Carolina |
75% |
|
High Point University
High Point, North Carolina |
75% |
|
Methodist University
Fayetteville, North Carolina |
75% |
|
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina |
75% |
|
University of Mary
Bismarck, North Dakota |
75% |
|
Gods Bible School and College
Cincinnati, Ohio |
75% |
|
Ursuline College
Pepper Pike, Ohio |
75% |
|
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Portland, Oregon |
75% |
|
Marian University
Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin |
75% |
|
Northland College
Ashland, Wisconsin |
75% |
|
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, Arkansas |
76% |
|
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, California |
76% |
|
Albizu University Miami
Miami, Florida |
76% |
|
Eckerd College
Saint Petersburg, Florida |
76% |
|
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois |
76% |
|
Huntington University
Huntington, Indiana |
76% |
|
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana |
76% |
|
Wartburg College
Waverly, Iowa |
76% |
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.