College admissions may be competitive, but the overall odds are generally in the applicant's favor based on the numbers. The national average acceptance rate for first-time freshmen was 65.4% in fall 2016, according to data from the National Association for College Admission Counseling. But those odds aren't nearly so promising among some highly selective schools.

The acceptance rate at some private colleges is in the single digits. For example, Stanford University in California accepted only 4% of applicants in fall 2018, per U.S. News data. Stanford had the lowest acceptance rate in the country, but other private schools aren't far off.

Public schools, however, tend to offer greater access, admitting more students than their private peers. According to NACAC data, public colleges admitted 69.1% of first-time freshmen in fall 2016, compared with 63.5% for private schools.

But admissions can be competitive at some public colleges too. The two top public schools among National Universities in the U.S. News rankings, the University of California—Los Angeles and University of California—Berkeley, had fall 2018 acceptance rates of 14% and 15%, respectively. National Universities are schools that are often research-oriented and offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and doctoral programs.

To get into the top public schools, a prospective student needs a standout application. According to the UCLA website, students admitted in fall 2018 earned a nearly perfect GPA and scored high marks on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT. On the lower end, among the 25th percentile, students admitted to UCLA earned an average unweighted GPA of 3.9, an ACT composite score of 31 and an SAT composite score of 1370. Additionally, admitted domestic students completed an average of 19 honors courses.

On the higher end of the spectrum, among the 75th percentile, students admitted to UCLA averaged an unweighted GPA of 4.0 with composite scores of 35 and 1540 on the ACT and SAT, respectively. Nationally, the 2018 graduating class had an average composite score of 20.8 for the ACT and 1068 for the SAT, meaning these students admitted to UCLA scored significantly higher on these tests than the national average. Domestic students in the 75th percentile admitted to UCLA also logged an average of 30 honors courses.

Students admitted to UC—Berkeley in fall 2018 were likewise high achievers in high school. According to the school's website, the middle 50% of incoming freshmen had an unweighted GPA between nearly 3.9 and 4.0, with composite scores of 30-35 for the ACT and 1350-1540 for the SAT, respectively.

Beyond UCLA and UC—Berkeley, which had the lowest acceptance rates among public National Universities ranked by U.S. News, the odds are a bit better for students who submit applications. Many of the public colleges listed below accepted more than a quarter of applicants, with the highest acceptance rate at 42% at Stony Brook University—SUNY. The list features six schools in the University of California system, many of which are among U.S. News 2020 Top Public Schools.

On average, the 20 National Universities below accepted 31.7% of students who applied in fall 2018, per U.S. News data.