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

Emporia, Kansas

98%
98%

Jersey City, New Jersey

98%

La Grande, Oregon

98%

Monmouth, Oregon

98%

Altoona, Pennsylvania

98%

Middletown, Pennsylvania

98%

Media, Pennsylvania

98%

Mont Alto, Pennsylvania

98%

Brookings, South Dakota

98%
99%

Columbus, Georgia

99%
99%

Saint Paul, Minnesota

99%

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

99%

Valley City, North Dakota

99%

Wilberforce, Ohio

99%

Dunmore, Pennsylvania

99%

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.