Private Colleges in California, Ranked by Acceptance Rate

California has 33 private colleges in the CollegeCalcAI database. The most selective is California Institute of Technology at 3%; the most accessible is Life Pacific University at 96%, and the median private college in the state admits 66%. 5 schools admit 30% of applicants or fewer. Private colleges set their own aid policies, so the sticker price on this list says little about what a family actually pays; the acceptance rate says a lot about where to apply.

Schools

Median acceptance

66%

Most selective

California Institute of Technology

3% acceptance

Download as CSV

Get your real chances

CollegeCalcAI computes a personalized acceptance estimate from your GPA, scores, and activities. Free, no account to start.

Open the calculator

33 schools

Sort by

Your chances at these colleges

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 Private Colleges in California 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 a Likely or Safety estimate (45% or higher) at 28 of the 33 colleges here, including Hope International University, Occidental College and Loyola Marymount University. The other 5 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
Stanford Universityadmits 4%	4%Reach	6%Reach	8%Reach
Pomona Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
University of Southern Californiaadmits 10%	8%Reach	12%Reach	20%Reach
Claremont McKenna Collegeadmits 10%	9%Reach	12%Reach	20%Reach
Hope International Universityadmits 33%	42%Target	65%Likely	78%Safety
Occidental Collegeadmits 44%	31%Target	66%Likely	91%Safety
Loyola Marymount Universityadmits 45%	35%Target	74%Safety	93%Safety
Pacific Union Collegeadmits 47%	69%Likely	89%Safety	95%Safety
Santa Clara Universityadmits 48%	36%Target	73%Safety	94%Safety
University of San Diegoadmits 52%	46%Likely	85%Safety	97%Safety
University of San Franciscoadmits 62%	68%Likely	96%Safety	98%Safety
Vanguard Universityadmits 62%	88%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Pepperdine Universityadmits 63%	62%Likely	94%Safety	98%Safety
Fresno Pacific Universityadmits 64%	90%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Chapman Universityadmits 65%	69%Likely	96%Safety	98%Safety
Concordia University Irvineadmits 66%	92%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Jessup Universityadmits 68%	94%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
University of the Pacificadmits 71%	88%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Biola Universityadmits 74%	94%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
California Lutheran Universityadmits 76%	96%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Westmont Collegeadmits 77%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Thomas Aquinas Collegeadmits 83%	95%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Dominican University (CA)admits 84%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Point Loma Nazarene Universityadmits 84%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety

Show all 33 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)
Masters Universityadmits 84%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
California Baptist Universityadmits 85%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Simpson Universityadmits 86%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Saint Mary's College of Californiaadmits 87%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Azusa Pacific Universityadmits 88%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
La Sierra Universityadmits 92%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
William Jessup Universityadmits 93%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety
Life Pacific Universityadmits 96%	98%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety

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

Cite or embed this list

Free to quote with attribution. The stat card links back to this list.

Cite this page

CollegeCalcAI. "Private Colleges in California, Ranked by Acceptance Rate." 2026. https://collegecalcai.com/data/private-colleges-in-california

Free to cite and reuse with attribution and a link.

Embed this stat

66%median acceptance rate, private colleges in california, ranked by acceptance rate (33 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI

<a href="https://collegecalcai.com/data/private-colleges-in-california?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">66%median acceptance rate, private colleges in california, ranked by acceptance rate (33 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI</a>

Keep exploring

More ways to cut the data.

California publics California All California schools Liberal Arts Colleges All collections

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.