California Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 100 private colleges in California 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 California Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College Acceptance Rate

Los Angeles, California

44%

Los Angeles, California

45%

Los Angeles, California

46%

Angwin, California

47%

Santa Clara, California

48%

San Diego, California

52%

La Puente, California

55%

San Francisco, California

55%
58%

Southlake, California

61%

San Francisco, California

62%
62%

Malibu, California

63%

Fresno, California

64%

Orange, California

65%

Irvine, California

66%

Berkeley, California

67%

Atherton, California

68%

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.