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 |
|---|---|
|
American Musical and Dramatic Academy
New York, New York |
24% |
|
Pitzer College
Claremont, California |
25% |
|
Spelman College
Atlanta, Georgia |
25% |
|
Reed College
Portland, Oregon |
25% |
|
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
Needham, Massachusetts |
25% |
|
Trinity Bible College and Graduate School
Ellendale, North Dakota |
26% |
|
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania |
26% |
|
Trinity University
San Antonio, Texas |
26% |
|
Villanova University
Villanova, Pennsylvania |
27% |
|
Franklin and Marshall College
Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
28% |
|
Visible Music College
Memphis, Tennessee |
28% |
|
Trinity College
Hartford, Connecticut |
29% |
|
Macalester College
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
29% |
|
Mississippi College
Clinton, Mississippi |
29% |
|
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania |
29% |
|
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania |
29% |
|
Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary
Jacksonville, Texas |
29% |
|
Yeshivath Zichron Moshe
South Fallsburg, New York |
30% |
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.