The vast majority of colleges and universities in the United States admit more than fifty percent of all students that submit applications for admission each year. There are, however, approximately 150 four-year institutions that report admitting fewer than half of their annual applicants, with some schools admitting as few as ten percent.

The following list includes those colleges and universities that reported that they offered admission to fewer than fifty percent of the applicants for their freshman class entering in fall 2004. In addition to the acceptance rates for the highly selective schools, SAT scores for the middle fifty of the freshman class are provided along with the percentage of freshmen that ranked in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class.

In some instances, ACT composite scores for the middle fifty of the class are presented in lieu of SAT scores. ACT scores are presented in italics.