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 |
|---|---|
|
Shawnee State University
Portsmouth, Ohio |
100% |
|
Wright State University Lake Campus
Celina, Ohio |
100% |
|
Cameron University
Lawton, Oklahoma |
100% |
|
Langston University
Langston, Oklahoma |
100% |
|
Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, Oklahoma |
100% |
|
Oklahoma Panhandle State University
Goodwell, Oklahoma |
100% |
|
Oklahoma State University Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
100% |
|
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Okmulgee, Oklahoma |
100% |
|
Rogers State University
Claremore, Oklahoma |
100% |
|
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Weatherford, Oklahoma |
100% |
|
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Cheyney, Pennsylvania |
100% |
|
Oglala Lakota College
Kyle, South Dakota |
100% |
|
Brazosport College
Lake Jackson, Texas |
100% |
|
Midland College
Midland, Texas |
100% |
|
Texas Southmost College
Brownsville, Texas |
100% |
|
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas |
100% |
|
The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, Texas |
100% |
|
Utah Tech University
Saint George, Utah |
100% |
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.