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 |
|---|---|
|
Clarkson College
Omaha, Nebraska |
78% |
|
Saint Anselm College
Manchester, New Hampshire |
78% |
|
University of Mount Union
Alliance, Ohio |
78% |
|
Lewis & Clark College
Portland, Oregon |
78% |
|
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania |
78% |
|
Southwestern Adventist University
Keene, Texas |
78% |
|
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, Washington |
78% |
|
Appalachian Bible College
Mount Hope, West Virginia |
78% |
|
Concordia University Wisconsin
Mequon, Wisconsin |
78% |
|
Wisconsin Lutheran College
Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
78% |
|
Ottawa University Surprise
Surprise, Arizona |
78% |
|
University of Saint Joseph
West Hartford, Connecticut |
79% |
|
Anderson University
Anderson, Indiana |
79% |
|
MidAmerica Nazarene University
Olathe, Kansas |
79% |
|
Stevenson University
Owings Mills, Maryland |
79% |
|
Kettering University
Flint, Michigan |
79% |
|
Hope College
Holland, Michigan |
79% |
|
Concordia University Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
79% |
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.