Top 100 - Lowest Acceptance Rates

Many students aspire for admission to a prestigious college or university, but the supply of open seats often does not meet the demand from applicants. Earning admission to the schools on this list can be especially difficult. With the lowest acceptance rates among all undergraduate institutions surveyed by U.S. News, regardless of ranking category, the 100 colleges and universities listed here are among the most selective, based on the fall 2011 entering class.

Save	School	Fall 2011 acceptance rate
	Mississippi Valley State University Itta Bena, MS	16.1%
	United States Coast Guard Academy New London, CT	16.1%
	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	16.3%
	Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA	16.4%
	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	16.4%
	Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO	16.5%
	Williams College Williamstown, MA	17.3%
	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	18.0%
	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	18.0%
	Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes, KY	18.1%
	Georgetown University Washington, DC	18.1%
	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	18.2%
	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	18.3%
	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	18.4%
	Rice University Houston, TX	18.8%
	United States Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point, NY	19.9%
	CUNY–Lehman College Bronx, NY	20.4%
	University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA	21.6%
	Tufts University Medford, MA	21.9%
	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	22.3%
	CUNY–Baruch College New York, NY	22.4%
	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	22.5%
	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	23.0%
	Lincoln University Lincoln University, PA	23.1%
	LeMoyne-Owen College Memphis, TN	23.4%

Save

School

Fall 2011 acceptance rate

Mississippi Valley State University

Itta Bena, MS

16.1%

United States Coast Guard Academy

New London, CT

16.1%

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

16.3%