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.
| College | Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|
|
Curry College
Milton, Massachusetts |
88% |
|
Bethel University
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
88% |
|
Hamline University
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
88% |
|
Avila University
Kansas City, Missouri |
88% |
|
Wagner College
Staten Island, New York |
88% |
|
Yeshiva Derech Chaim
Brooklyn, New York |
88% |
|
University of Jamestown
Jamestown, North Dakota |
88% |
|
Cairn University Langhorne
Langhorne, Pennsylvania |
88% |
|
Johnson & Wales University Providence
Providence, Rhode Island |
88% |
|
Roger Williams University
Bristol, Rhode Island |
88% |
|
Schreiner University
Kerrville, Texas |
88% |
|
Saint Mary's College of California
Moraga, California |
87% |
|
Covenant College
Lookout Mountain, Georgia |
87% |
|
Wheaton College
Wheaton, Illinois |
87% |
|
University of Saint Mary
Leavenworth, Kansas |
87% |
|
Transylvania University
Lexington, Kentucky |
87% |
|
Martin Luther College
New Ulm, Minnesota |
87% |
|
Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitz
Brooklyn, New York |
87% |
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.