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

Klamath Falls, Oregon

95%

New Kensington, Pennsylvania

95%

Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania

95%

Greensburg, Pennsylvania

95%

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

95%
95%
95%
95%

Lawrenceville, Georgia

95%

Troy, Alabama

96%

Russellville, Arkansas

96%

San Francisco, California

96%

Evansville, Indiana

96%

Frankfort, Kentucky

96%

Princess Anne, Maryland

96%

Salem, Massachusetts

96%

Missoula, Montana

96%

Las Vegas, Nevada

96%

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.