Most Selective U.S. Colleges
CollegeSimply ranks 249 four-year colleges that accept 50% or fewer of applicants, sorted by acceptance rate from lowest to highest. These are the most selective schools in the U.S.
California Institute of Technology is the most selective, accepting just 3% of 13,856 applicants. Also highly selective: Minerva University, Yale University and University of Chicago.
Selectivity does not always equal academic difficulty. Some schools admit a small share of applicants because demand exceeds capacity, not because admission standards are extreme. If you need safety schools, see our highest acceptance rate colleges. For academically demanding options, explore colleges with the highest SAT, highest ACT, and highest GPA averages.
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
- Public 4 Year
- Socorro, NM
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| 0 reviews
- 44% acceptance rate
- Aug 1 application deadline
New Mexico Tech is a small public technological university known for undergraduate engineering, earth sciences, and physics. The campus is in the small town of Socorro in central New Mexico.
- SAT Range 1080-1310
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.63
- Net Price $11,551
Maria College of Albany
- Private 4 Year
- Albany, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- 44% acceptance rate
Maria College is a private college known for undergraduate nursing and health sciences. The Albany campus was founded by the Sisters of Mercy and retains a Catholic identity.
- SAT Range 965-1095
- Avg GPA 2.5
- Net Price $16,254
Union College
- Private 4 Year
- Schenectady, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 44% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Union is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering alongside the sciences and social sciences. Most students belong to Minerva Houses that organize dining and campus social life.
- SAT Range 1310-1480
- Avg GPA 3.5
- Net Price $42,137
Texas A & M International University
- Public 4 Year
- Laredo, TX
-
| 0 reviews
- 44% acceptance rate
Texas A&M International is a public university known for undergraduate international business and nursing. Its campus is in Laredo on the U.S.-Mexico border.
- SAT Range 890-1090
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Net Price $5,644
Texas Christian University
- Private 4 Year
- Fort Worth, TX
-
4.8 | 4 reviews
- 44% acceptance rate
- Feb 1 application deadline
TCU is a private university known for undergraduate business and communications. The residential campus sits a few miles from downtown Fort Worth.
- SAT Range 1140-1350
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.68
- Net Price $41,848
Yeshiva Toras Chaim
- Private 4 Year
- Lakewood, NJ
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| 0 reviews
- 44% acceptance rate
Yeshiva Toras Chaim is a private Orthodox Jewish yeshiva focused on undergraduate Talmudic and Torah studies. The campus is in Lakewood, a major center of Orthodox Jewish life in New Jersey.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $8,592
Oakwood University
- Private 4 Year
- Huntsville, AL
-
1.0 | 1 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
Oakwood is a private historically Black university known for undergraduate nursing and theology. The Seventh-day Adventist campus is located in Huntsville.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA 2.99
- Net Price $26,730
Loyola Marymount University
- Private 4 Year
- Los Angeles, CA
-
| 0 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Loyola Marymount is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate film and television, business, and communications. The bluff-top Los Angeles campus overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
- SAT Range 1260-1430
- Avg GPA 3.92
- Net Price $59,926
Grambling State University
- Public 4 Year
- Grambling, LA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
Grambling is a public historically Black university known for undergraduate education, nursing, and criminal justice. The residential campus is in the small town of Grambling in northern Louisiana.
- SAT Range 920-1080
- Avg GPA 3.01
- Net Price $17,018
University of Maryland College Park
- Public 4 Year
- College Park, MD
-
4.8 | 6 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
UMD is a large public university known for undergraduate computer science, engineering, and journalism. The College Park campus sits just outside Washington, D.C.
- SAT Range 1400-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.84
- Net Price $16,581
Bentley University
- Private 4 Year
- Waltham, MA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Bentley is a private university known for undergraduate business, accounting, and finance. The suburban campus sits in Waltham just west of Boston.
- SAT Range 1280-1430
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.75
- Net Price $45,802
Alcorn State University
- Public 4 Year
- Alcorn State, MS
-
1.0 | 1 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
Alcorn State is a public historically Black university known for undergraduate agriculture, nursing, and biology. The rural campus sits in southwestern Mississippi.
- SAT Range 670-998
- Avg GPA 3.2
- Net Price $12,376
College of Saint Mary
- Private 4 Year
- Omaha, NE
-
| 0 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
College of Saint Mary is a private Catholic women's college known for undergraduate nursing, health sciences, and education. Most undergraduates study on a residential campus in Omaha.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA 3.4
- Net Price $17,078
Johnson C Smith University
- Private 4 Year
- Charlotte, NC
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4.5 | 2 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
Johnson C. Smith is a private historically Black university known for undergraduate business, computer science, and social work. The compact urban campus sits in Charlotte's historic West End.
- SAT Range 800-980
- Avg GPA 2.48
- Net Price $19,705
Bennington College
- Private 4 Year
- Bennington, VT
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Bennington is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate visual and performing arts, writing, and student-designed academic plans. Students complete a required winter Field Work Term of off-campus work on its rural Vermont campus.
- SAT Range 1291-1403
- Avg GPA 3.51
- Net Price $34,220
University of Wisconsin Madison
- Public 4 Year
- Madison, WI
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5.0 | 2 reviews
- 45% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Wisconsin is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate business, engineering, and the biological sciences. The lakeside campus occupies an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona in a classic college town.
- SAT Range 1380-1520
- Avg GPA 3.88
- Net Price $14,235
Auburn University
- Public 4 Year
- Auburn, AL
-
4.6 | 9 reviews
- 46% acceptance rate
- Feb 1 application deadline
Auburn is a large public university known for undergraduate engineering, architecture, and agriculture. The residential campus anchors the classic college town of Auburn.
- SAT Range 1260-1390
- Avg GPA 3.97
- Net Price $25,242
California State University Long Beach
- Public 4 Year
- Long Beach, CA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 46% acceptance rate
- Nov 30 application deadline
Cal State Long Beach is a large public university known for undergraduate art and design, nursing, and business. The campus sits near the Pacific coast in the Los Angeles metro area.
- SAT Range 1020-1240
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Net Price $10,607