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

Waltham, Massachusetts

40%

Worcester, Massachusetts

40%

Rochester, New York

40%

Dallas, Texas

40%
40%

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

40%

Washington, District Of Columbia

41%
41%

New York, New York

41%

Wilberforce, Ohio

41%

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia

41%

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

41%

Ave Maria, Florida

41%

El Dorado Hills, California

41%

New Orleans, Louisiana

42%

Gering, Nebraska

42%

Brevard, North Carolina

42%

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

42%

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.