Most of us dream to get into prestigious colleges however this can be difficult. Acceptance rates play a key role when applying to a college in the admission process. Keeping the competition in mind one needs to apply to more than one college or university. However, Certain Colleges or Universities have low acceptance rates due to various reasons apart from Academic Excellence.
In this article, we have explained a list of Colleges with the Lowest Acceptance Rate, Factors to Consider while choosing a College Acceptance Rate, etc. so that you can choose the right one for you.
- 2022 College Acceptance Rates from Lowest | Hardest Universities to get Into with Less than 10% Acceptance Rates
- List of Lowest Acceptance Rate Colleges
- Why do Some Colleges have Low Acceptance Rates?
- Tips to Keep in Mind while Applying for Colleges with Lowest Acceptance Rates
- Factors to Consider while Choosing College Acceptance Rates
List of Lowest Acceptance Rate Colleges
Below is the Colleges List that has Lowest Acceptance Rate. Be careful while selecting and applying to the college as it can reflect your admission process. We have sorted the Top 100 Colleges with Low Acceptance Rates for your convenience here. Pick the college or university that meets your requirements and join accordingly if your application gets picked.
| School Name | Acceptance Rate |
| Curtis Institute of Music
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
4.2% |
| Stanford University
Stanford, California
|
4.8% |
| Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
|
5.4% |
| Juilliard School
New York City, New York
|
6.2% |
| Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
|
6.3% |
| Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey
|
6.5% |
| Columbia University
New York City, New York
|
6.8% |
| Alice Lloyd College
Pippa Passes, Kentucky
|
7.1% |
| University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
|
7.9% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
|
7.9% |
| California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California
|
8.1% |
| United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, Maryland
|
9% |
| Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
|
9.3% |
| Pomona College
Claremont, California
|
9.4% |
| University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
9.4% |
| Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, California
|
9.4% |
| United States Military Academy
West Point, New York
|
10% |
| Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Needham, Massachusetts
|
10.2% |
| Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire
|
10.6% |
| Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
|
10.7% |
| Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
|
10.7% |
| Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
|
10.8% |
| Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland
|
12.8% |
| Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, California
|
12.9% |
| Pitzer College
Claremont, California
|
13.7% |
| Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts
|
13.7% |
| Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
|
14.1% |
| College of the Ozarks
Point Lookout, Missouri
|
14.2% |
| Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Maine
|
14.8% |
| Cooper Union
New York City, New York
|
15.1% |
| Rice University
Houston, Texas
|
15.1% |
| University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, California
|
16% |
| Mississippi Valley State University
Itta Bena, Mississippi
|
16.2% |
| United States Air Force Academy
USAF, Colorado
|
16.6% |
| Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
|
17% |
| Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
|
17.1% |
| Middlebury College >
Middlebury, Vermont
|
17.3% |
| Tufts University
Medford, Massachusetts
|
17.3% |
| Georgetown University
Washington, DC
|
17.4% |
| Rust College
Holly Springs, Mississippi
|
17.6% |
| Colorado College
Colorado Springs, Colorado
|
18% |
| University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
|
18% |
| United States Coast Guard Academy
New London, Connecticut
|
18.1% |
| University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA)
Los Angeles, California
|
18.5% |
| Williams College
Williamstown, Massachusetts
|
19.4% |
| Washington and Lee University
Lexington, Virginia
|
19.6% |
| Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia
|
20.3% |
| Florida Memorial University
Miami, Florida
|
20.5% |
| University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana
|
21.5% |
| Davidson College
Davidso, North Carolina
|
21.7% |
| Missouri Valley College
Marshall, Missouri
|
22.2% |
| United States Merchant Marine Academy
Kings Point, New York
|
22.4% |
| Carleton College
Northfield, Minnesota
|
22.8% |
| Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, New York
|
23.5% |
| Barnard College
New York, New York
|
23.7% |
| Wesleyan University
Middletown, Connecticut
|
23.9% |
| Fort Valley State University
Fort Valley, Georgia
|
24.2% |
| Art Academy of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
|
24.3% |
| Robert Morris University
Chicago, Illinois
|
24.4% |
| Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
|
24.6% |
| Haverford College
Haverford, Pennsylvania
|
24.7% |
| Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio
|
25.1% |
| Bates College
Lewiston, Maine
|
25.4% |
| Jackson State University
Jackson, Mississippi
|
26.1% |
| Colgate University
Hamilton, New York
|
26.1% |
| Warner University
Lake Wales, Florida
|
26.2% |
| Babson College
Wellesley, Massachusetts
|
26.4% |
| Hamilton College
Clinton, New York
|
26.4% |
| Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia
|
26.8% |
| Lincoln University
Lincoln University, Pennsylvania
|
27.1% |
| Edward Waters College
Jacksonville, Florida
|
27.3% |
| Scripps College
Claremont, California
|
27.4% |
| California Institute of Arts
Valencia, California
|
27.7% |
| CUNY–Baruch College
New York City, New York
|
28% |
| Grinnell College
Grinnell, Iowa
|
28% |
| Tulane University
New Orleans, Los Angeles
|
28% |
| Colby College
Waterville, Maine
|
28.1% |
| College of New Rochelle
New Rochelle, New York
|
28.5% |
| University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
|
28.5% |
| CUNY–Lehman College
Bronx, New York
|
29% |
| University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
|
29% |
| Hampton University
Hampton, Virginia
|
29.1% |
| Lafayette College
Easton, Pennsylvania
|
29.8% |
| Chicago State University
Chicago, Illinois
|
30% |
| Calumet College of St. Joseph
Whiting, Indiana
|
30.3% |
| Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts
|
30.5% |
| Bucknell University
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
|
30.7% |
| California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, California
|
30.9% |
| Hope International University
Fullerton, California
|
31% |
| Wilson College
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
|
31.4% |
| Southwestern Adventist University
Keene, Texas
|
31.5% |
| University of Richmond
University of Richmond, Virginia
|
31.9% |
| Northeastern University
Boston, Massachusetts
|
32% |
| University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
|
32.3% |
| Ohio Valley University
Vienna, West Virginia
|
32.5% |
| Oberlin College
Oberlin, Ohio
|
32.7% |
| College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia
|
33% |
| Trinity College
Hartford, Connecticut
|
33% |
| Webb Institute
Glen Cove, New York
|
33% |
Why do Some Colleges have Low Acceptance Rates?
The Low Acceptance Rate of a college can be due to various reasons. One of the common reasons is the gap between the supply and demand of open seats in Universities. Other factors like high academic standards and popularity among students also affect the Acceptance Rates of the College.
However, most qualified candidates might get rejected with their applications on basis of other credentials. In Some other Colleges Low Acceptance Rates can also be due to the strict rules they impose apart from academic qualifications. Certain Universities accept applications from candidates who are good in a specific field of study. In Some Colleges, Students have to meet certain financial needs in order to get accepted. Also, Check:
Tips to Keep in Mind while Applying for Colleges with Lowest Acceptance Rates
In order to make your application stand out keep these tips in mind. They are explained as follows
- Colleges having the lowest acceptance rates usually check out for a strong academic record.
- Boost your GPA Scores by taking AP classes and all.
- Attempt Practice Tests on SAT and Act Prep Courses and increase scores in actual exams.
- Highlight your volunteering or extra circular activities experience as it helps your application to stand out.
- Revise, Edit, and Customize Essays for each school.
- Cross-check the entire application before submitting one as errors can draw the wrong attention in the time of admission process.
2022 College Acceptance Rates from Lowest | Hardest Universities to get Into with Less than 10% Acceptance Rates
Here is the list of 10 Hardest Universities to get Admission into. All of them are quite difficult to enter as the competition is relatively high and number of prospective students applying to them is also high.
- Stanford University – Stanford, California: 3.9%
- Columbia University – New York City, New York: 3.9%
- Harvard University – Cambridge, Massachusetts: 4.0%
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Cambridge, Massachusetts: 4.1%
- Curtis Institute of Music – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 4.2%
- Princeton University – Princeton, New Jersey: 4.4%
- University of Chicago – Chicago, Illinois: 6.2%
- Juilliard School – New York City, New York: 6.2%
- Yale University – New Haven, Connecticut: 6.3%
- Alice Lloyd College – Pippa Passes, Kentucky: 7.1%
Must Read: Cheap Colleges
Factors to Consider while Choosing College Acceptance Rates
College Acceptance Rate is a single criterion to look into before applying for a Certain College/University. In addition to this factor, you need to keep a track of the number of students applying for the college, the Average GPA, and SAT Scores of the Particular College, Enrollment Date, and others that are needed to understand the Acceptance Rate in a better way.
- Compare Acceptance Rate Percentage Breakdown to the Number of Students applying for the College/University you have applied to.
- Find out where you stand when compared to the average SAT or GPA Score of the desired College or University.
- Determine the acceptance percentage in comparison to the actual enrollment.
- Also, find out the acceptance rate percentage compared to the school's tuition fee and financial aid.
- At last, compare the acceptance rate of each college so as to further simplify your requirements.
Final Words
We as a team believe that the information existing on our page with regards to Lowest Acceptance Rate Colleges has shed some light on you. If you need any further assistance on the same don't hesitate to ask us via the comment section and our team will assist you. Bookmark our site to avail latest updates on College Rankings and other college-related information at your fingertips.