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
Indiana Wesleyan University Marion Marion, Indiana	89%
Valparaiso University Valparaiso, Indiana	89%
University of Dubuque Dubuque, Iowa	89%
Blue Mountain Christian University Blue Mountain, Mississippi	89%
Monmouth University West Long Branch, New Jersey	89%
Houghton University Houghton, New York	89%
Mirrer Yeshiva Cent Institute Brooklyn, New York	89%
Mount Saint Mary College Newburgh, New York	89%
University of Portland Portland, Oregon	89%
Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	89%
Dallas Baptist University Dallas, Texas	89%
Nelson University Waxahachie, Texas	89%
Ferrum College Ferrum, Virginia	89%
Antioch College Yellow Springs, Ohio	89%
Azusa Pacific University Azusa, California	88%
Bethune Cookman University Daytona Beach, Florida	88%
Brenau University Gainesville, Georgia	88%
Oglethorpe University Atlanta, Georgia	88%

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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.