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

Fulton, Missouri

79%

Lakewood, New Jersey

79%

Lawrenceville, New Jersey

79%

Riverdale, New York

79%

Marietta, Ohio

79%

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

79%

Huntingdon, Pennsylvania

79%

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

79%

Far Rockaway, New York

79%

Mount Vernon, Iowa

80%

Orange City, Iowa

80%

Campbellsville, Kentucky

80%
80%

Omaha, Nebraska

80%

Lincoln, Nebraska

80%

New London, New Hampshire

80%
80%

Greensboro, North Carolina

80%

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.