Most selective colleges in California

50 colleges ranked by acceptance rate

These 50 most selective colleges in California, ranked by acceptance rate, run from 3% at California Institute of Technology to 74% at California Baptist University. 12 are public and 38 are private.

#	College	Type	Acceptance	Avg SAT	Net price / yr
1	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	Private	3%	—	$18,902
2	Stanford University Stanford, CA	Private	4%	1,553	$12,136
3	Pomona College Claremont, CA	Private	7%	1,520	$19,424
4	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Public	9%	—	$14,013
5	Pacific Oaks College Pasadena, CA	Private	10%	—	—
6	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Private	10%	1,501	$31,927
7	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	Private	11%	1,514	$27,384
8	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Public	12%	—	$14,979
9	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	Private	13%	1,537	$32,492
10	Pitzer College Claremont, CA	Private	17%	—	$31,663
11	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Public	25%	—	$11,750
12	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Public	26%	—	$12,840
13	California Institute of the Arts Valencia, CA	Private	26%	—	$47,183
14	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Public	28%	—	$13,825
15	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Public	30%	—	$15,624
16	Scripps College Claremont, CA	Private	34%	1,480	$38,802
17	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	Public	34%	—	$16,174
18	Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science Los Angeles, CA	Private	39%	—	$27,789
19	University of California-Merced Merced, CA	Public	39%	—	$12,744
20	Gnomon North Hollywood, CA	Private	40%	—	$45,824
21	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	Private	40%	1,461	$39,329
22	The Chicago School at Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Private	40%	—	—
23	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	Private	40%	—	$45,723
24	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Public	42%	—	$15,288
25	Pacific Union College Angwin, CA	Private	42%	1,093	$20,979
26	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Private	44%	1,417	$50,959
27	Westcliff University Irvine, CA	Private	45%	—	$26,455
28	University of Saint Katherine San Marcos, CA	Private	46%	—	$33,072
29	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	Private	47%	—	$31,265
30	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	Public	47%	—	$8,931
31	University of La Verne La Verne, CA	Private	48%	1,116	$26,925
32	Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	Private	50%	1,367	$45,409
33	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	Private	51%	1,313	$39,495
34	University of Silicon Valley San Jose, CA	Private	51%	—	$30,799
35	San Francisco Conservatory of Music San Francisco, CA	Private	52%	—	$42,448
36	Chapman University Orange, CA	Private	56%	1,353	$47,527
37	Fresno Pacific University Fresno, CA	Private	58%	—	$14,317
38	Concordia University-Irvine Irvine, CA	Private	60%	—	$28,046
39	Biola University La Mirada, CA	Private	60%	1,258	$28,101
40	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	Public	63%	—	$16,607
41	San Diego Christian College Santee, CA	Private	63%	—	$7,871
42	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	Public	63%	—	$13,707
43	Vanguard University of Southern California Costa Mesa, CA	Private	65%	—	$19,761
44	California Miramar University San Diego, CA	Private	66%	—	$11,007
45	Menlo College Atherton, CA	Private	68%	—	$27,032
46	Mount Saint Mary's University Los Angeles, CA	Private	69%	—	$25,009
47	Soka University of America Aliso Viejo, CA	Private	70%	1,360	$21,446
48	Woodbury University Burbank, CA	Private	73%	—	$28,248
49	California College of the Arts San Francisco, CA	Private	73%	—	$42,168
50	California Baptist University Riverside, CA	Private	74%	—	$27,384

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