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

Lookout Mountain, Georgia

87%

Wheaton, Illinois

87%

Leavenworth, Kansas

87%

Lexington, Kentucky

87%

New Ulm, Minnesota

87%
87%

New Rochelle, New York

87%

Purchase, New York

87%

Niagara University, New York

87%

Buffalo, New York

87%

Buies Creek, North Carolina

87%

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

87%

Memphis, Tennessee

87%
87%

Ashland, Virginia

87%

Kenosha, Wisconsin

87%
87%

Azusa, California

88%

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.