Southwest Colleges with low acceptance rates

Colleges with the Lowest Acceptance Rate in Southwest for 2023

These are the most selective public and private four-year colleges in Southwest. The list is ranked by acceptance rate, lowest to highest and limited to schools which reject at least half of all applicants. Leading the list is Rice University which sent acceptance letters to only 9% of the 29,544 students who applied and rejected 91%.

Not all schools on the most selective list are overly academically challenging. Some schools with less rigorous test and high school GPA requirements may receive a large numbers of qualified applicants and the school does not have space to admit them all.

If you're looking for challenging colleges, explore rankings of Southwest colleges with the highest SAT scores, highest ACT scores and highest GPA's.


8 results

Rice University
R
Houston, TX

Rice University

Private 4 Year

2 reviews

9% Acceptance Rate

#9 Best Colleges in America

  • 8,285enrollment
  • $19,215net price
  • 1490-1570SAT range
  • 34-35ACT range
  • 3.96Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 1

Dallas Christian College
D
Dallas, TX

Dallas Christian College

Private 4 Year

0 reviews

17% Acceptance Rate

 

  • 317enrollment
  • $28,981net price
  • -SAT range
  • -ACT range
  • 3.06Avg GPA

The University of Texas at Austin
T
Austin, TX

The University of Texas at Austin

Public 4 Year

3 reviews

29% Acceptance Rate

#12 Best Public Universities in America

  • 51,991enrollment
  • $16,892net price
  • 1230-1500SAT range
  • 27-33ACT range
  • 3.8Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Dec 1

Eastern New Mexico University Main Campus
E
Portales, NM
 

Eastern New Mexico University Main Campus

Public 4 Year

1 reviews

33% Acceptance Rate

#4 Best Public Universities in New Mexico

  • 4,991enrollment
  • $9,922net price
  • 860-1100SAT range
  • 16-22ACT range
  • 3.23Avg GPA

Applications Due Aug 24

Trinity University
T
San Antonio, TX

Trinity University

Private 4 Year

0 reviews

34% Acceptance Rate

#2 Best Colleges in Texas

  • 2,704enrollment
  • $31,141net price
  • 1280-1468SAT range
  • 29-33ACT range
  • 3.68Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 15

Saint Gregorys University
S
Shawnee, OK
 

Saint Gregorys University

Private 4 Year

0 reviews

42% Acceptance Rate

 

  • 702enrollment
  • $18,055net price
  • -SAT range
  • -ACT range
  • NAAvg GPA

Austin College
A
Sherman, TX

Austin College

Private 4 Year

0 reviews

43% Acceptance Rate

#3 Best Value Colleges in Texas

  • 1,228enrollment
  • $24,085net price
  • 1120-1340SAT range
  • 23-29ACT range
  • 3.63Avg GPA

Applications Due Jul 31

Huston Tillotson University
H
HBCU
Austin, TX

Huston Tillotson University

Private 4 Year

1 reviews

50% Acceptance Rate

 

  • 1,001enrollment
  • $14,375net price
  • 820-1000SAT range
  • 14-20ACT range
  • 2.92Avg GPA

Applications Due May 1