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.
Regent University
- Private 4 Year
- Virginia Beach, VA
-
| 0 reviews
- 38% acceptance rate
- Aug 1 application deadline
Regent is a private Christian university known for undergraduate communication, government, and the arts. The suburban campus is in Virginia Beach near the Atlantic coast.
- SAT Range 990-1250
- Avg GPA 3.34
- Net Price $20,512
Whitman College
- Private 4 Year
- Walla Walla, WA
-
3.4 | 5 reviews
- 38% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Whitman is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology, chemistry, and environmental studies. The residential campus sits in the small college town of Walla Walla.
- SAT Range 1310-1480
- Avg GPA 3.68
- Net Price $37,633
Bais Medrash Elyon
- Private 4 Year
- Monsey, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- 38% acceptance rate
Bais Medrash Elyon is a private Orthodox Jewish yeshiva known for undergraduate Talmudic and Torah studies. The Monsey campus is set within a large Orthodox Jewish community in the New York suburbs.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $14,121
Messenger College
- Private 4 Year
- Bedford, TX
-
| 0 reviews
- 38% acceptance rate
- Jul 1 application deadline
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA 2.9
- Net Price $25,941
Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science
- Private 4 Year
- Los Angeles, CA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
- Jul 30 application deadline
Charles Drew University is a private university known for undergraduate nursing and biomedical sciences. The urban campus in South Los Angeles is a historically Black health sciences institution.
- SAT Range -
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.26
- Net Price $35,558
Illinois Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Bloomington, IL
-
| 0 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
Illinois Wesleyan is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate music, nursing, and the sciences. Most students live on a residential campus in Bloomington in central Illinois.
- SAT Range 1120-1340
- Avg GPA 3.86
- Net Price $28,644
Methodist College
- Private 4 Year
- Peoria, IL
-
| 0 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
- Jul 23 application deadline
Methodist College is a private college known for undergraduate nursing and health sciences. The compact urban campus sits in Peoria near a regional medical center.
- SAT Range 800-1160
- Avg GPA 2.95
- Net Price $41,787
Bethany Lutheran College
- Private 4 Year
- Mankato, MN
-
| 0 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
- Jul 1 application deadline
Bethany Lutheran is a small private Lutheran college known for undergraduate education, business, and the liberal arts. Most students live on the residential campus in Mankato.
- SAT Range 1040-1180
- Avg GPA 3.51
- Net Price $21,127
Binghamton University
- Public 4 Year
- Vestal, NY
-
4.2 | 4 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Binghamton is a selective public university known for undergraduate business, accounting, and engineering. The wooded hillside campus in Vestal sits above the Susquehanna River valley in New York's Southern Tier.
- SAT Range 1340-1500
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Net Price $18,877
Gettysburg College
- Private 4 Year
- Gettysburg, PA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Gettysburg is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate history and political science. The campus borders Gettysburg National Military Park and the Civil War battlefield.
- SAT Range 1270-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $32,769
Huston Tillotson University
- Private 4 Year
- Austin, TX
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
- May 1 application deadline
Huston-Tillotson is a private historically Black university with undergraduate programs in business, education, and the liberal arts. Most students study on a compact campus in East Austin.
- SAT Range 800-1160
- Avg GPA 2.92
- Net Price $20,355
University of Washington Seattle Campus
- Public 4 Year
- Seattle, WA
-
3.5 | 6 reviews
- 39% acceptance rate
- Nov 16 application deadline
UW is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate computer science, engineering, and oceanography. The urban campus sits beside Portage Bay and Lake Washington.
- SAT Range 1200-1453
- Avg GPA 3.82
- Net Price $11,784
University of Central Florida
- Public 4 Year
- Orlando, FL
-
4.2 | 6 reviews
- 40% acceptance rate
- May 1 application deadline
UCF is a large public university known for undergraduate hospitality management, aerospace engineering, and digital media. The large suburban campus sits in east Orlando near the region's tourism industry.
- SAT Range 1200-1350
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.64
- Net Price $13,351
The University of Tampa
- Private 4 Year
- Tampa, FL
-
2.5 | 13 reviews
- 40% acceptance rate
University of Tampa is a private university known for undergraduate business, marine science, and nursing. The urban campus centers on historic Plant Hall along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa.
- SAT Range 1070-1240
- Avg GPA 3.5
- Net Price $35,679
Brandeis University
- Private 4 Year
- Waltham, MA
-
4.0 | 1 reviews
- 40% acceptance rate
Brandeis is a private university known for undergraduate neuroscience, biology, and the social sciences. The suburban campus in Waltham sits just west of Boston.
- SAT Range 1390-1520
- Avg GPA 3.84
- Net Price $43,550
Clark University
- Private 4 Year
- Worcester, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 40% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Clark is a private university known for undergraduate psychology and geography. The compact urban campus sits in Worcester, west of Boston.
- SAT Range 1288-1460
- Avg GPA 3.69
- Net Price $33,865
University of Rochester
- Private 4 Year
- Rochester, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 40% acceptance rate
- Jan 5 application deadline
Rochester is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate optics, music through the Eastman School, and engineering. Undergraduates follow a flexible curriculum built around interdisciplinary clusters rather than fixed general-education requirements.
- SAT Range 1410-1540
- Avg GPA 3.75
- Net Price $40,462
Paul Quinn College
- Private 4 Year
- Dallas, TX
-
3.0 | 1 reviews
- 40% acceptance rate
- Jun 1 application deadline
Paul Quinn is a small private historically Black college with undergraduate programs in business and the liberal arts. The Dallas campus operates as a work college where students hold required campus jobs.
- SAT Range 855-1015
- Avg GPA 2.6
- Net Price $12,709