United States Private Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 1198 private colleges in the United States with the highest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. Amridge University leads the list by accepting 100% of high school students that applied.

Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.

List of United States Private Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate
College Acceptance Rate

Richmond, Virginia

98%

Brooklyn, New York

98%

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

97%

Greenville, Illinois

97%

Chicago, Illinois

97%

Cambridge, Massachusetts

97%

Hamburg, New York

97%

Buffalo, New York

97%
97%

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

97%

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

97%

Gaffney, South Carolina

97%

Green Bay, Wisconsin

97%

Anchorage, Alaska

96%

San Dimas, California

96%

Fremont, California

96%

West Hartford, Connecticut

96%

Mount Vernon, Georgia

96%

This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: March 15, 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.