Colleges With Under a 10% Acceptance Rate

27 colleges in the CollegeCalcAI database have an acceptance rate under 10%, spread across 14 states: 2 public and 25 private. The median admitted-student SAT (75th percentile) in this band is 1560. Ranked from most to least selective, the list starts with California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, and Harvard University. At this level of selectivity, top grades and scores are the entry ticket rather than the deciding factor. Every school here is a reach for everyone, and a balanced list matters more than anywhere else.

Schools

Median acceptance

Most selective

California Institute of Technology

3% acceptance

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Estimated chance of admission for three typical students, from the same model as the calculator. Unweighted GPA; 2, 4 and 7 AP courses respectively; Regular Decision; no legacy, athletic or first-generation hook.

Which of the Colleges With Under a 10% Acceptance Rate can I get into with a 3.7 GPA and a 1300 SAT?

By CollegeCalcAI's model, a student with a 3.7 unweighted GPA and a 1300 SAT has no Likely or Safety estimate among the 27 colleges here. The other 27 are Reach. Estimates assume Regular Decision and no hook; courses, activities and essays move them.

Estimated admission chance for three student profiles at each college: 3.3 GPA, 1150 SAT; 3.7 GPA, 1300 SAT; 4.0 GPA, 1500 SAT
College	3.3 GPA1150 SAT	3.7 GPA1300 SAT	4.0 GPA1500 SAT
California Institute of Technologyadmits 3%	4%Reach	4%Reach	7%Reach
Columbia Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Harvard Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Stanford Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Yale Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
University of Chicagoadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Brown Universityadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
Dartmouth Collegeadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
Northeastern Universityadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	11%Reach
Princeton Universityadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
University of Pennsylvaniaadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
Massachusetts Institute of Technologyadmits 5%	5%Reach	7%Reach	10%Reach
Duke Universityadmits 6%	6%Reach	8%Reach	12%Reach
Vanderbilt Universityadmits 6%	6%Reach	8%Reach	12%Reach
Johns Hopkins Universityadmits 6%	6%Reach	8%Reach	12%Reach
Bowdoin Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Colby Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	15%Reach
Pomona Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Swarthmore Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Northwestern Universityadmits 8%	7%Reach	10%Reach	15%Reach
Rice Universityadmits 8%	7%Reach	9%Reach	16%Reach
Williams Collegeadmits 8%	7%Reach	10%Reach	16%Reach
Cornell Universityadmits 9%	8%Reach	10%Reach	18%Reach
U.S. Naval Academyadmits 9%	8%Reach	13%Reach	21%Reach
UCLAadmits 9%	8%Reach	11%Reach	18%Reach

Show all 27 colleges

Estimated admission chance for three student profiles at each college: 3.3 GPA, 1150 SAT; 3.7 GPA, 1300 SAT; 4.0 GPA, 1500 SAT (continued)
Amherst Collegeadmits 9%	8%Reach	11%Reach	18%Reach
New York Universityadmits 9%	8%Reach	11%Reach	18%Reach

Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities or compare your own list with the free admissions API.

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CollegeCalcAI. "Colleges With Under a 10% Acceptance Rate." 2026. https://collegecalcai.com/data/colleges-with-under-10-percent-acceptance-rate

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6%median acceptance rate, colleges with under a 10% acceptance rate (27 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI

<a href="https://collegecalcai.com/data/colleges-with-under-10-percent-acceptance-rate?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=statcard" style="display:inline-block;padding:16px 20px;border:1px solid #E5E9F0;border-radius:14px;text-decoration:none;font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;background:#fff">6%median acceptance rate, colleges with under a 10% acceptance rate (27 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI</a>

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Acceptance rates and admitted test ranges reflect publicly reported data (U.S. Department of Education / NCES IPEDS / Common Data Sets) and are rounded. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.