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

Portsmouth, Ohio

100%
100%

Lawton, Oklahoma

100%

Langston, Oklahoma

100%

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

100%
100%

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

100%
100%

Claremore, Oklahoma

100%
100%

Cheyney, Pennsylvania

100%

Kyle, South Dakota

100%

Lake Jackson, Texas

100%

Midland, Texas

100%

Brownsville, Texas

100%
100%
100%

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.