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
Shorter University Rome, Georgia	96%
Brigham Young University Idaho Rexburg, Idaho	96%
University of Saint Francis Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, Indiana	96%
Maharishi International University Fairfield, Iowa	96%
Upper Iowa University Fayette, Iowa	96%
Thomas College Waterville, Maine	96%
Bard College at Simon's Rock Great Barrington, Massachusetts	96%
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Kansas City, Missouri	96%
Pfeiffer University Misenheimer, North Carolina	96%
Pontifical College Josephinum Columbus, Ohio	96%
Charleston Southern University Charleston, South Carolina	96%
Benedict College Columbia, South Carolina	96%
University of Mary Hardin Baylor Belton, Texas	96%
Texas Lutheran University Seguin, Texas	96%
Southern Virginia University Buena Vista, Virginia	96%
Prescott College Prescott, Arizona	95%
Mitchell College New London, Connecticut	95%
Paine College Augusta, Georgia	95%

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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.