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Low Acceptance Rate

2026 Tightest Colleges To Admit Rankings

The acceptance rate is the percentage of students who are allowed to admitted. It is calculated by dividing the number of accepted students by the number of applicants. The "admitted" does not mean that all admitted students would enroll to school. An admitted student may or may not enroll to school and the term "Yield", also known as enrollment rate, is used to represent the percentage of enrolled students over admitted students.

Suppose that 1,500 students have applied, 500 students have allowed to admit, and finally 200 students have enrolled to a school. In this case, the acceptance rate is 33.33% (500 / 1,500 * 100) and the yield (enrollment rate is ) 40% (200 / 500 * 100).

In general, the lower the acceptance rate, the harder it is admitted to school. In fact, the acceptance rate of most top ranked schools is low and the schools tend to keep their acceptance rate low.

California Institute of Technology has the tightest acceptance rate (2.57%) and Minerva University has the second lowest rate (3.04%) based on academic year 2023-2024 admission data.

Below table ranks and compares the Tightest Colleges To Admit having lowest acceptance rate. For the acceptance rate rankings, we only include 4-year colleges that have competitive admission.

Tightest Colleges To Admit

Rank	College Name	Applicants	Admitted	Enrolled	Acceptance Rate	Yield	Tuition & Fees	Student Population	SAT Score
4	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	13,856	356	218	2.6%	61.2%	$65,898	2,430	-
1	Minerva University San Francisco, CA	10,864	330	144	3.0%	43.6%	$23,630	669	-
3	Stanford University Stanford, CA	57,326	2,067	1,693	3.6%	81.9%	$65,910	18,625	1,550
2	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	54,008	1,970	1,647	3.6%	83.6%	$61,676	30,259	1,550
6	Yale University New Haven, CT	57,517	2,227	1,554	3.9%	69.8%	$67,250	15,564	1,540
7	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	60,115	2,400	1,558	4.0%	64.9%	$70,517	35,173	1,550
9	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	43,612	1,955	1,726	4.5%	88.3%	$69,324	18,566	1,550
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	28,232	1,284	1,102	4.5%	85.8%	$62,396	11,886	1,560
5	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	40,468	1,868	1,410	4.6%	75.5%	$62,688	9,137	1,550
27	Northeastern University Boston, MA	98,425	5,133	2,759	5.2%	53.8%	$66,162	32,553	1,490
12	Brown University Providence, RI	48,904	2,638	1,719	5.4%	65.2%	$71,312	11,956	1,540
8	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	65,226	3,523	2,395	5.4%	68.0%	$68,686	29,109	1,550
10	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	31,656	1,710	1,182	5.4%	69.1%	$68,019	6,938	1,540
11	Duke University Durham, NC	51,795	2,957	1,740	5.7%	58.8%	$68,758	17,499	1,540
14	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	45,409	2,662	1,630	5.9%	61.2%	$67,498	13,575	1,540
18	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	45,895	2,954	1,389	6.4%	47.0%	$64,730	30,210	1,550
24	Pomona College Claremont, CA	12,249	868	436	7.1%	50.2%	$65,420	1,700	1,540
40	Colby College Waterville, ME	19,187	1,360	628	7.1%	46.2%	$69,600	2,412	1,510
30	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	13,265	946	507	7.1%	53.6%	$67,832	1,881	1,520
33	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	13,065	975	427	7.5%	43.8%	$65,494	1,623	1,540
13	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	49,474	3,806	2,105	7.7%	55.3%	$68,322	23,856	1,540
15	Rice University Houston, TX	32,473	2,597	1,148	8.0%	44.2%	$61,247	8,961	1,550
23	Williams College Williamstown, MA	15,411	1,272	547	8.3%	43.0%	$68,560	2,164	1,540
17	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	62,993	5,516	3,525	8.8%	63.9%	$69,314	26,793	1,540
31	Barnard College New York, NY	11,836	1,046	718	8.8%	68.6%	$69,888	3,487	1,520
42	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	146,272	13,114	6,610	9.0%	50.4%	$46,121	47,335	-
35	Amherst College Amherst, MA	13,743	1,238	480	9.0%	38.8%	$70,480	1,914	1,540
25	New York University New York, NY	110,807	10,232	5,666	9.2%	55.4%	$62,796	56,832	1,520
492	United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD	15,149	1,405	1,183	9.3%	84.2%	-	4,474	1,300
29	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	6,529	626	337	9.6%	53.8%	$67,980	1,393	1,530
28	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	82,027	8,050	3,489	9.8%	43.3%	$71,647	46,566	1,500
34	Emory University Atlanta, GA	33,450	3,562	1,438	10.6%	40.4%	$64,280	15,175	1,520
46	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	12,540	1,348	598	10.7%	44.4%	$67,600	2,803	1,500
41	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	124,242	13,639	6,272	11.0%	46.0%	$47,265	45,882	-
37	Boston University Boston, MA	78,769	8,749	3,268	11.1%	37.4%	$68,102	37,737	1,480
21	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	29,942	3,374	2,082	11.3%	61.7%	$65,025	13,042	1,520
26	Tufts University Medford, MA	34,432	3,957	1,801	11.5%	45.5%	$70,704	13,599	1,510
20	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	33,941	3,959	1,808	11.7%	45.7%	$65,636	15,888	1,540
22	Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO	32,754	3,951	1,847	12.1%	46.7%	$65,790	16,357	1,540
52	Haverford College Haverford, PA	7,341	908	387	12.4%	42.6%	$70,398	1,431	1,510
725	United States Military Academy West Point, NY	12,320	1,534	1,195	12.5%	77.9%	-	4,473	1,330
32	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	5,094	645	231	12.7%	35.8%	$68,613	951	1,540
16	Georgetown University Washington, DC	26,131	3,374	1,575	12.9%	46.7%	$68,089	20,031	1,490
2	Emory University-Oxford College Oxford, GA	22,118	2,899	429	13.1%	14.8%	$64,280	967	1,520
62	Bates College Lewiston, ME	10,027	1,336	488	13.3%	36.5%	$66,590	1,760	1,465
56	Davidson College Davidson, NC	8,114	1,085	520	13.4%	47.9%	$64,430	1,869	1,460
60	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	8,531	1,162	453	13.6%	39.0%	$68,960	2,031	1,500
53	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	20,682	2,871	825	13.9%	28.7%	$70,306	3,211	1,500
36	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	8,213	1,147	472	14.0%	41.2%	$68,045	2,241	1,480
39	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	32,609	4,559	1,838	14.0%	40.3%	$68,678	13,310	1,465
43	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	8,714	1,224	583	14.0%	47.6%	$67,176	2,407	1,520
47	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	59,789	8,413	3,836	14.1%	45.6%	$34,484	53,363	1,480
3	United States Air Force Academy USAF Academy, CO	10,187	1,435	1,126	14.1%	78.5%	-	4,114	1,330
66	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA	9,758	1,416	438	14.5%	30.9%	$68,196	1,788	1,490
70	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	66,535	10,209	4,640	15.3%	45.5%	$41,203	32,438	1,480
44	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	98,310	15,373	7,278	15.6%	47.3%	$63,081	52,855	1,460
38	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	35,037	5,755	2,501	16.4%	43.5%	$70,702	15,432	1,500
73	Wesleyan University Middletown, CT	14,389	2,373	825	16.5%	34.8%	$70,042	4,011	1,490
4	Northeastern University Oakland Oakland, CA	18,030	3,002	446	16.7%	14.9%	$67,778	640	1,480
48	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	58,951	9,909	3,961	16.8%	40.0%	$61,591	26,409	1,480
5	Babson College Wellesley, MA	9,381	1,603	625	17.1%	39.0%	$57,152	3,932	1,460
204	Denison University Granville, OH	15,012	2,611	621	17.4%	23.8%	$67,000	2,394	1,410
51	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	9,568	1,685	835	17.6%	49.6%	$64,500	3,126	1,340
135	Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO	8,511	1,572	476	18.5%	30.3%	$70,734	2,056	1,340
76	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	12,447	2,311	665	18.6%	28.8%	$71,030	2,462	1,500
71	Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI	6,692	1,249	518	18.7%	41.5%	$62,688	2,520	1,480
54	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	53,954	10,195	2,473	18.9%	24.3%	$62,616	19,852	1,400
69	Carleton College Northfield, MN	7,133	1,456	507	20.4%	34.8%	$68,892	2,128	1,515
616	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Tallahassee, FL	22,756	4,678	1,429	20.6%	30.5%	$17,725	9,313	1,100
120	Smith College Northampton, MA	8,666	1,820	645	21.0%	35.4%	$65,178	2,857	1,490
168	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY	11,889	2,503	666	21.1%	26.6%	$67,140	2,704	1,390
50	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	18,727	4,058	1,464	21.7%	36.1%	$67,642	9,322	1,470
67	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA	16,152	3,585	841	22.2%	23.5%	$65,230	3,722	1,480
75	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	73,557	17,804	7,513	24.2%	42.2%	$28,659	56,311	1,400
143	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	78,272	18,954	5,855	24.2%	30.9%	$21,683	43,889	1,350
6	American Musical and Dramatic Academy New York, NY	6,728	1,647	451	24.5%	27.4%	$46,928	1,452	-
427	Reed College Portland, OR	9,431	2,321	303	24.6%	13.1%	$69,350	1,358	1,420
485	Spelman College Atlanta, GA	12,023	2,990	705	24.9%	23.6%	$31,556	3,417	1,220
139	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	12,506	3,241	650	25.9%	20.1%	$53,676	2,687	1,405
45	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	20,396	5,289	1,501	25.9%	28.4%	$64,980	7,692	1,440
57	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	72,885	19,417	9,210	26.6%	47.4%	$44,908	53,864	1,390
90	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	134,450	35,917	7,330	26.7%	20.4%	$47,676	44,256	-
59	Villanova University Villanova, PA	23,256	6,274	1,740	27.0%	27.7%	$67,776	10,041	1,450
181	Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA	9,881	2,785	477	28.2%	17.1%	$70,794	1,808	1,375
158	Macalester College Saint Paul, MN	8,968	2,558	560	28.5%	21.9%	$68,104	2,138	1,440
673	University of Virginia's College at Wise Wise, VA	6,581	1,878	284	28.5%	15.1%	$28,010	2,167	1,050
129	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	122,699	35,054	6,736	28.6%	19.2%	$46,640	37,297	-
72	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	11,377	3,291	991	28.9%	30.1%	$67,812	3,969	1,400
105	Trinity College Hartford, CT	7,460	2,182	542	29.2%	24.8%	$70,770	2,238	1,405
284	Kenyon College Gambier, OH	7,726	2,397	439	31.0%	18.3%	$71,520	2,249	1,420
115	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	68,371	21,416	5,271	31.3%	24.6%	$33,230	23,069	-
92	Lafayette College Easton, PA	10,195	3,206	698	31.4%	21.8%	$64,648	2,775	1,430
100	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	110,259	36,347	5,008	33.0%	13.8%	$47,332	26,133	-
99	Fairfield University Fairfield, CT	18,509	6,162	1,461	33.3%	23.7%	$58,400	6,864	1,320
81	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	17,798	6,064	1,614	34.1%	26.6%	$51,038	9,818	1,470
244	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	10,536	3,601	701	34.2%	19.5%	$67,366	2,909	1,450
624	Southern University and A & M College Baton Rouge, LA	24,340	8,547	1,715	35.1%	20.1%	$17,272	8,279	900
189	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA	5,226	1,883	512	36.0%	27.2%	$67,018	2,275	1,460
229	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	89,972	32,561	6,629	36.2%	20.4%	$21,328	41,137	-
58	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	37,082	13,550	1,619	36.5%	11.9%	$66,608	12,475	1,510