United States Public Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 633 public colleges in the United States with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. University of California Los Angeles leads the list by accepting 9% 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 United States Public Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College Acceptance Rate

New Orleans, Louisiana

74%

Cape Girardeau, Missouri

74%
74%

Buffalo, New York

74%

Purchase, New York

74%

Houston, Texas

74%
75%
75%
75%
75%
75%

Morris, Minnesota

75%

Winona, Minnesota

75%
75%
75%

Conway, South Carolina

75%
75%

Riverside, California

76%

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.