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
Valparaiso University Valparaiso, Indiana	89%
University of Dubuque Dubuque, Iowa	89%
Blue Mountain Christian University Blue Mountain, Mississippi	89%
Monmouth University West Long Branch, New Jersey	89%
Houghton University Houghton, New York	89%
Mirrer Yeshiva Cent Institute Brooklyn, New York	89%
Mount Saint Mary College Newburgh, New York	89%
University of Portland Portland, Oregon	89%
Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	89%
Dallas Baptist University Dallas, Texas	89%
Nelson University Waxahachie, Texas	89%
Ferrum College Ferrum, Virginia	89%
Antioch College Yellow Springs, Ohio	89%
Heritage Christian University Florence, Alabama	90%
Boise Bible College Boise, Idaho	90%
Dominican University River Forest, Illinois	90%
Thomas More University Crestview Hills, Kentucky	90%
Aquinas College Grand Rapids, Michigan	90%

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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.