Colleges Hardest to Get Into
Colleges with the Lowest Acceptance Rate in for 2019
These are the most selective colleges in . We've ranked the schools which reject over fifty percent of applicants by rate of acceptance. Leading the list is Stanford University which sent acceptance letters to only 5% of the 44,073 students who applied and rejected 95%. Interestingly, not all schools on our "most selective" lists are overly academically challenging. Schools with less rigorous standardized test and high school GPA requirements may receive a large numbers of qualified applicants and the school does not have the capacity to potentially enroll.
| Rank | College | Percent Admitted | Academic Difficulty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford University Stanford, California 44,073 Applicants |
5% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 2 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California 7,339 Applicants |
8% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 3 | Pomona College Claremont, California 9,045 Applicants |
8% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 4 | Claremont McKenna College Claremont, California 6,349 Applicants |
10% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 5 | Harvey Mudd College Claremont, California 4,078 Applicants |
15% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 6 | University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles, California 102,225 Applicants |
16% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 7 | Pitzer College Claremont, California 3,753 Applicants |
16% | N/A | Chance |
| 8 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, California 56,676 Applicants |
16% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 9 | University of California Berkeley Berkeley, California 85,044 Applicants |
17% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 10 | California Institute of the Arts Valencia, California 2,265 Applicants |
24% | N/A | Chance |
| 11 | California State University Long Beach Long Beach, California 63,048 Applicants |
28% | Avg+ | Chance |
| 12 | Hope International University Fullerton, California 786 Applicants |
28% | Avg- | Chance |
| 13 | University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California 81,824 Applicants |
33% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 14 | Laguna College of Art and Design Laguna Beach, California 774 Applicants |
33% | N/A | Chance |
| 15 | University of California San Diego La Jolla, California 88,446 Applicants |
34% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 16 | California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, California 48,588 Applicants |
35% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 17 | San Diego State University San Diego, California 60,910 Applicants |
35% | Hard | Chance |
| 18 | University of California Irvine Irvine, California 85,092 Applicants |
37% | Hard | Chance |
| 19 | Soka University of America Aliso Viejo, California 489 Applicants |
37% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 20 | Pepperdine University Malibu, California 11,704 Applicants |
40% | Very Hard | Chance |