california Colleges Hardest to Get Into
Colleges with the Lowest Acceptance Rate in california for 2019
These are the most selective colleges in california. 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 | Scripps College Claremont, California 2,841 Applicants |
33% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 16 | University of California San Diego La Jolla, California 88,446 Applicants |
34% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 17 | California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, California 48,588 Applicants |
35% | Very Hard | Chance |
| 18 | San Diego State University San Diego, California 60,910 Applicants |
35% | Hard | Chance |
| 19 | University of California Irvine Irvine, California 85,092 Applicants |
37% | Hard | Chance |
| 20 | Soka University of America Aliso Viejo, California 489 Applicants |
37% | Very Hard | Chance |
