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

Prescott, Arizona

95%

New London, Connecticut

95%

Augusta, Georgia

95%

Lisle, Illinois

95%

Chicago, Illinois

95%

Indianapolis, Indiana

95%

Midway, Kentucky

95%

Saint Louis, Missouri

95%
95%

Morristown, New Jersey

95%
95%

Nashville, Tennessee

95%

Bolivar, Missouri

95%

Anchorage, Alaska

96%

San Dimas, California

96%

Fremont, California

96%

West Hartford, Connecticut

96%

Mount Vernon, Georgia

96%

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.