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.
| College | Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|
|
Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development
Santa Fe, New Mexico |
97% |
|
Penn State Erie Behrend College
Erie, Pennsylvania |
97% |
|
Penn State Wilkes Barre
Dallas, Pennsylvania |
97% |
|
Penn State Lehigh Valley
Center Valley, Pennsylvania |
97% |
|
Penn State DuBois
DuBois, Pennsylvania |
97% |
|
Penn State Abington
Abington, Pennsylvania |
97% |
|
Penn State Schuylkill
Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania |
97% |
|
Penn State York
York, Pennsylvania |
97% |
|
Texas Southern University
Houston, Texas |
97% |
|
Bluefield State University
Bluefield, West Virginia |
97% |
|
Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, West Virginia |
97% |
|
West Liberty University
West Liberty, West Virginia |
97% |
|
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming |
97% |
|
California State University Monterey Bay
Seaside, California |
97% |
|
Alabama State University
Montgomery, Alabama |
98% |
|
California State University Stanislaus
Turlock, California |
98% |
|
California State Polytechnic University Humboldt
Arcata, California |
98% |
|
College of Coastal Georgia
Brunswick, Georgia |
98% |
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.