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
The New School New York, New York	63%
New York School of Interior Design New York, New York	63%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York	63%
Hobart William Smith Colleges Geneva, New York	64%
Adelphi University Garden City, New York	66%
St. John Fisher University Rochester, New York	66%
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, New York	67%
Daemen University Amherst, New York	68%
Hofstra University Hempstead, New York	68%
Keuka College Keuka Park, New York	68%
Ithaca College Ithaca, New York	69%
Siena College Loudonville, New York	69%
Hartwick College Oneonta, New York	70%
Yeshiva of Machzikai Hadas Brooklyn, New York	70%
Roberts Wesleyan University Rochester, New York	71%
Canisius University Buffalo, New York	72%
St. Joseph's University New York Brooklyn, New York	72%
Yeshivath Shaar Hatorah Kew Gardens, New York	72%

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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.