New York Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 119 private colleges in New York with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. Columbia University in the City of New York leads the list by accepting 4% of high school students that applied.

Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.

List of New York Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College	Acceptance Rate
Columbia University in the City of New York New York, New York	4%
Barnard College New York, New York	9%
Cornell University Ithaca, New York	9%
The Juilliard School New York, New York	9%
New York University New York, New York	9%
Colgate University Hamilton, New York	14%
Hamilton College Clinton, New York	14%
Webb Institute Glen Cove, New York	14%
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, New York	19%
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, New York	21%
Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, New York	21%
American Musical and Dramatic Academy New York, New York	24%
Yeshivath Zichron Moshe South Fallsburg, New York	30%
Yeshiva D'monsey Rabbinical College Monsey, New York	37%
Yeshiva Shaarei Torah of Rockland Suffern, New York	37%
Bais Medrash Elyon Monsey, New York	38%
University of Rochester Rochester, New York	40%
Manhattan School of Music New York, New York	41%

Search and filter all 119 colleges

This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.