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 |
|---|---|
|
Barry University
Miami, Florida |
77% |
|
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois |
77% |
|
Bradley University
Peoria, Illinois |
77% |
|
North Central College
Naperville, Illinois |
77% |
|
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
Terre Haute, Indiana |
77% |
|
Saint Ambrose University
Davenport, Iowa |
77% |
|
McPherson College
McPherson, Kansas |
77% |
|
Louisiana Christian University
Pineville, Louisiana |
77% |
|
Maryland Institute College of Art
Baltimore, Maryland |
77% |
|
Stephens College
Columbia, Missouri |
77% |
|
Clarkson University
Potsdam, New York |
77% |
|
Elmira College
Elmira, New York |
77% |
|
Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science
Paul Smiths, New York |
77% |
|
Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah
Brooklyn, New York |
77% |
|
Gardner Webb University
Boiling Springs, North Carolina |
77% |
|
Lees McRae College
Banner Elk, North Carolina |
77% |
|
Salem College
Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
77% |
|
Kettering College
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.