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

Miami, Florida

77%
77%

Peoria, Illinois

77%

Naperville, Illinois

77%
77%

Davenport, Iowa

77%

McPherson, Kansas

77%

Pineville, Louisiana

77%

Baltimore, Maryland

77%

Columbia, Missouri

77%

Potsdam, New York

77%

Elmira, New York

77%
77%
77%

Boiling Springs, North Carolina

77%

Banner Elk, North Carolina

77%

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

77%

Kettering, Ohio

77%

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.