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

Salisbury, North Carolina

75%

High Point, North Carolina

75%

Fayetteville, North Carolina

75%

Wake Forest, North Carolina

75%

Bismarck, North Dakota

75%
75%

Pepper Pike, Ohio

75%
75%

Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin

75%

Ashland, Wisconsin

75%

Siloam Springs, Arkansas

76%

Thousand Oaks, California

76%

Miami, Florida

76%

Saint Petersburg, Florida

76%

Chicago, Illinois

76%

Huntington, Indiana

76%

Notre Dame, Indiana

76%

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.