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

Detroit, Michigan

92%

Saint Joseph, Minnesota

92%

Saint Paul, Minnesota

92%

Henniker, New Hampshire

92%
92%

Utica, New York

92%

Wilmington, Ohio

92%

Collegeville, Pennsylvania

92%

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

92%

Bridgewater, Virginia

92%

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

92%

Edison, New Jersey

92%

Metairie, Louisiana

92%

Kenosha, Wisconsin

92%

Birmingham, Alabama

93%

Rocklin, California

93%
93%

Marietta, Georgia

93%

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.