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 |
|---|---|
|
Art Center College of Design
Pasadena, California |
75% |
|
Holy Cross College
Notre Dame, Indiana |
75% |
|
Alice Lloyd College
Pippa Passes, Kentucky |
75% |
|
Loyola University Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland |
75% |
|
Hampshire College
Amherst, Massachusetts |
75% |
|
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, Michigan |
75% |
|
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo, Michigan |
75% |
|
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, Missouri |
75% |
|
Nazareth University
Rochester, New York |
75% |
|
Belmont Abbey College
Belmont, North Carolina |
75% |
|
Catawba College
Salisbury, North Carolina |
75% |
|
High Point University
High Point, North Carolina |
75% |
|
Methodist University
Fayetteville, North Carolina |
75% |
|
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina |
75% |
|
University of Mary
Bismarck, North Dakota |
75% |
|
Gods Bible School and College
Cincinnati, Ohio |
75% |
|
Ursuline College
Pepper Pike, Ohio |
75% |
|
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Portland, Oregon |
75% |
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.