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 |
|---|---|
|
Saint Vincent College
Latrobe, Pennsylvania |
62% |
|
Hampton University
Hampton, Virginia |
62% |
|
Cornish College of the Arts
Seattle, Washington |
62% |
|
University of Charleston
Charleston, West Virginia |
62% |
|
Mount Mary University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
62% |
|
United States Sports University
Daphne, Alabama |
61% |
|
Kentucky Christian University
Grayson, Kentucky |
61% |
|
Gustavus Adolphus College
Saint Peter, Minnesota |
61% |
|
Touro University
New York, New York |
61% |
|
Cleveland Institute of Art
Cleveland, Ohio |
61% |
|
Marywood University
Scranton, Pennsylvania |
61% |
|
University of Valley Forge
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania |
61% |
|
Maryville College
Maryville, Tennessee |
61% |
|
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
61% |
|
The King's University
Southlake, California |
61% |
|
University of the Ozarks
Clarksville, Arkansas |
60% |
|
University of New Haven
West Haven, Connecticut |
60% |
|
Emmaus Bible College
Dubuque, Iowa |
60% |
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.