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 |
|---|---|
|
Babson College
Wellesley, Massachusetts |
17% |
|
Denison University
Granville, Ohio |
17% |
|
Colorado College
Colorado Springs, Colorado |
18% |
|
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, Massachusetts |
18% |
|
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida |
19% |
|
Berea College
Berea, Kentucky |
19% |
|
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, New York |
19% |
|
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, Rhode Island |
19% |
|
Carleton College
Northfield, Minnesota |
20% |
|
Smith College
Northampton, Massachusetts |
21% |
|
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale, Michigan |
21% |
|
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
New York, New York |
21% |
|
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, New York |
21% |
|
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
22% |
|
Dallas Christian College
Dallas, Texas |
22% |
|
University of Richmond
University of Richmond, Virginia |
22% |
|
Crown College
Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota |
23% |
|
Cabarrus College of Health Sciences
Concord, North Carolina |
23% |
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.