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

Riverside, California

91%
91%

Monmouth, Illinois

91%

Georgetown, Kentucky

91%

Boston, Massachusetts

91%

Boston, Massachusetts

91%

Collegeville, Minnesota

91%
91%

Hyde Park, New York

91%

Lakewood, New York

91%

Wingate, North Carolina

91%

Saint Davids, Pennsylvania

91%

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

91%
91%

Westfield, Indiana

91%

Lithonia, Georgia

92%

Trinity, Florida

92%

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.