Colleges With The Lowest Acceptance Rates

U.S. Colleges & Universities with the Lowest Admission Rates

Building a university list is all about striking the right balance – between academic experiences and fun experiences, between admission long-shots and safety schools. 

The list below includes the 20 U.S. colleges and universities with the lowest acceptance rates. These represent the colleges and universities that are a REACH on any student’s list. 

College/University	City, State	US News & World Report 2024 Ranking	Fall 2023 Acceptance Rate	Notable Academic Strengths
California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, CA	6 (tie)	Below 4%	Science, Engineering
Harvard University	Cambridge, MA	3	Below 4%	Law, Business, Medicine
Stanford University	Stanford, CA	4	Below 4%	Business, Engineering, Computer Science
Columbia University	New York, NY	12	Around 4%	Journalism, Business, Law
Princeton University	Princeton, NJ	1	Around 4%	Public and International Affairs, Engineering
Yale University	New Haven, CT	5	Around 4%	Law, Drama, Medicine
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, MA	2	Around 4%	Engineering, Computer Science, Economics
University of Chicago	Chicago, IL	11 (tie)	Around 4%	Economics, Law, Sociology
Brown University	Providence, RI	13	Around 5%	Liberal Arts, Medicine
Northeastern University	Boston, MA	54 (tie)	Around 5%	Cooperative Education, Engineering
University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA	10	Around 5%	Business (Wharton), Medicine
Dartmouth College	Hanover, NH	15 (tie)	Around 6%	Liberal Arts, Business
Vanderbilt University	Nashville, TN	18 (tie)	Around 6%	Education, Medicine
Colby College	Waterville, ME	25	Around 6%	Liberal Arts, Environmental Studies
Duke University	Durham, NC	6 (tie)	Around 6%	Medicine, Law, Business
Pomona College	Claremont, CA	5 (tie)	Around 6%	Liberal Arts, Sciences
Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	9	Around 7%	Journalism, Business, Engineering
Rice University	Houston, TX	17	Around 7%	Engineering, Business
Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	9	Around 8%	Medicine, Public Health, International Studies
Cornell University	Ithaca, NY	12	Around 8%	Engineering, Hotel Administration