Pennsylvania Public Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 35 public colleges in Pennsylvania with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Campus leads the list by accepting 58% 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 Pennsylvania Public Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College	Acceptance Rate
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	58%
Penn State Main Campus University Park, Pennsylvania	61%
Lincoln University Lincoln University, Pennsylvania	66%
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania	71%
West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, Pennsylvania	78%
Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	80%
Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, Pennsylvania	86%
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, Pennsylvania	87%
University of Pittsburgh Bradford Bradford, Pennsylvania	89%
Indiana University of Pennsylvania Main Campus Indiana, Pennsylvania	91%
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, Pennsylvania	91%
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania	92%
Penn State Shenango Sharon, Pennsylvania	92%
Penn State New Kensington New Kensington, Pennsylvania	95%
Penn State Fayette Eberly Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania	95%
University of Pittsburgh Greensburg Greensburg, Pennsylvania	95%
University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Johnstown, Pennsylvania	95%
Penn State Beaver Monaca, Pennsylvania	96%

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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.