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 |
|---|---|
|
La Sierra University
Riverside, California |
91% |
|
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii |
91% |
|
Monmouth College
Monmouth, Illinois |
91% |
|
Georgetown College
Georgetown, Kentucky |
91% |
|
Boston Baptist College
Boston, Massachusetts |
91% |
|
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Boston, Massachusetts |
91% |
|
Saint Johns University
Collegeville, Minnesota |
91% |
|
Fairleigh Dickinson University Metropolitan Campus
Teaneck, New Jersey |
91% |
|
Culinary Institute of America
Hyde Park, New York |
91% |
|
Rabbinical Seminary Mkor Chaim
Lakewood, New York |
91% |
|
Wingate University
Wingate, North Carolina |
91% |
|
Eastern University
Saint Davids, Pennsylvania |
91% |
|
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania |
91% |
|
Concordia University Texas
Austin, Texas |
91% |
|
Union Bible College
Westfield, Indiana |
91% |
|
Luther Rice College & Seminary
Lithonia, Georgia |
92% |
|
Trinity College of Florida
Trinity, Florida |
92% |
|
University of New England
Biddeford, Maine |
92% |
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.