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 |
|---|---|
|
Trine University
Angola, Indiana |
85% |
|
Bay Path University
Longmeadow, Massachusetts |
85% |
|
MCPHS University
Boston, Massachusetts |
85% |
|
College of Our Lady of the Elms
Chicopee, Massachusetts |
85% |
|
University of St Thomas
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
85% |
|
University of Mount Saint Vincent
Bronx, New York |
85% |
|
Lenoir Rhyne University
Hickory, North Carolina |
85% |
|
Otterbein University
Westerville, Ohio |
85% |
|
Linfield University
McMinnville, Oregon |
85% |
|
Keystone College
La Plume, Pennsylvania |
85% |
|
Kairos University
Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
85% |
|
Saint Michael's College
Colchester, Vermont |
85% |
|
The Master's University and Seminary
Santa Clarita, California |
84% |
|
Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego, California |
84% |
|
Saint Xavier University
Chicago, Illinois |
84% |
|
Goshen College
Goshen, Indiana |
84% |
|
Hanover College
Hanover, Indiana |
84% |
|
Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, Maine |
84% |
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.