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

Sherman Oaks, California

43%

Lake Wales, Florida

43%

Jackson, Mississippi

43%

Adelphia, New Jersey

43%

Greenville, South Carolina

43%

Yankton, South Dakota

43%

Georgetown, Texas

43%

Lynchburg, Virginia

43%

Leesburg, Florida

43%

Aliso Viejo, California

43%

Los Angeles, California

44%

West Point, Georgia

44%

Atlanta, Georgia

44%

Boston, Massachusetts

44%

Albany, New York

44%

Schenectady, New York

44%

Fort Worth, Texas

44%

Lakewood, New Jersey

44%

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.