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 |
|---|---|
|
Westminster College
Fulton, Missouri |
79% |
|
Georgian Court University
Lakewood, New Jersey |
79% |
|
Rider University
Lawrenceville, New Jersey |
79% |
|
Manhattan University
Riverdale, New York |
79% |
|
Marietta College
Marietta, Ohio |
79% |
|
Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
79% |
|
Juniata College
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania |
79% |
|
Messiah University
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |
79% |
|
Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid
Far Rockaway, New York |
79% |
|
Cornell College
Mount Vernon, Iowa |
80% |
|
Northwestern College
Orange City, Iowa |
80% |
|
Campbellsville University
Campbellsville, Kentucky |
80% |
|
Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
Brookline, Massachusetts |
80% |
|
Creighton University
Omaha, Nebraska |
80% |
|
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Lincoln, Nebraska |
80% |
|
Colby Sawyer College
New London, New Hampshire |
80% |
|
Mesivta Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary
Brooklyn, New York |
80% |
|
Guilford College
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.