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

Pikeville, Kentucky

100%
100%

St. Benedict, Louisiana

100%

New Gloucester, Maine

100%

Springfield, Massachusetts

100%

Boston, Massachusetts

100%

Boston, Massachusetts

100%

Quincy, Massachusetts

100%
100%

Cambridge, Massachusetts

100%

Newton, Massachusetts

100%

Beverly, Massachusetts

100%

Brighton, Massachusetts

100%

Lansing, Michigan

100%

Detroit, Michigan

100%

Troy, Michigan

100%
100%

Bemidji, Minnesota

100%

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.