New York Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 119 private colleges in New York with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. Columbia University in the City of New York leads the list by accepting 4% 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 New York Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College	Acceptance Rate
Maria College of Albany Albany, New York	44%
Union College Schenectady, New York	44%
Syracuse University Syracuse, New York	46%
Jewish Theological Seminary of America New York, New York	49%
Bard College Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	52%
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Albany, New York	53%
Russell Sage College Troy, New York	53%
St Lawrence University Canton, New York	54%
Mesivta of Eastern Parkway Yeshiva Zichron Meilech Brooklyn, New York	56%
Davis College Pottersville, New York	56%
Torah Temimah Talmudical Seminary Staten Island, New York	56%
Yeshiva University New York, New York	56%
Marist University Poughkeepsie, New York	57%
Fordham University Bronx, New York	59%
Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem of America New York, New York	60%
Touro University New York, New York	61%
Sarah Lawrence College Bronxville, New York	62%
Dominican University New York Orangeburg, New York	63%

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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.