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
Pratt Institute Main Brooklyn, New York	73%
Alfred University Alfred, New York	74%
Nazareth University Rochester, New York	75%
Pace University New York, New York	76%
Clarkson University Potsdam, New York	77%
Elmira College Elmira, New York	77%
Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science Paul Smiths, New York	77%
Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah Brooklyn, New York	77%
Manhattan University Riverdale, New York	79%
Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid Far Rockaway, New York	79%
Mesivta Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary Brooklyn, New York	80%
D'Youville University Buffalo, New York	81%
New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury, New York	81%
Molloy University Rockville Centre, New York	82%
St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, New York	82%
Le Moyne College Syracuse, New York	83%
Marymount Manhattan College New York, New York	83%
St. John's University New York Queens, New York	83%

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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.