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

Monroe, New York

100%

Huntsville, Alabama

100%

Rosemead, California

100%

Pasadena, California

100%
100%
100%

Torrance, California

100%

Indianapolis, California

100%

Lauderhill, Florida

100%
100%

Kansas City, Missouri

100%

Gainesville, Virginia

100%

Los Alamitos, California

100%

Henderson, Nevada

100%

Fayetteville, North Carolina

100%

Cary, North Carolina

100%

Louisville, Kentucky

100%

Stafford, Texas

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.