Pennsylvania Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 82 private colleges in Pennsylvania with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. Curtis Institute of Music leads the list by accepting 5% 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 Pennsylvania Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College	Acceptance Rate
DeSales University Center Valley, Pennsylvania	77%
Saint Francis University Loretto, Pennsylvania	77%
Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania	78%
Drexel University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	79%
Juniata College Huntingdon, Pennsylvania	79%
Messiah University Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	79%
Arcadia University Glenside, Pennsylvania	80%
Seton Hill University Greensburg, Pennsylvania	80%
Mercyhurst University Erie, Pennsylvania	81%
Neumann University Aston, Pennsylvania	81%
University of Scranton Scranton, Pennsylvania	81%
Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania	81%
Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	81%
Washington & Jefferson College Washington, Pennsylvania	81%
Mount Aloysius College Cresson, Pennsylvania	82%
Bryn Athyn College of the New Church Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania	83%
Cedar Crest College Allentown, Pennsylvania	84%
Duquesne University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	84%

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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.