United States Private Colleges Ranked by Largest Enrollment

Below is a ranking of the 1262 private colleges in the United States with the largest enrollment of full and part time students. Western Governors University leads the list with a population of 210,208 students.

Enrollment is a measure of the size of the student body. Larger schools are more likely to offer a wider range of programs and services while smaller schools may have a more intimate and personalized experience.

List of United States Private Colleges Ranked by Largest Enrollment
College	Enrollment
Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, Missouri	16,357
Fordham University Bronx, New York	16,150
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	15,888
Yale University New Haven, Connecticut	15,564
Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	15,432
Emory University Atlanta, Georgia	15,175
Howard University Washington, District Of Columbia	14,890
Bellevue University Bellevue, Nebraska	14,667
Wilmington University New Castle, Delaware	13,746
Pace University New York, New York	13,634
Tufts University Medford, Massachusetts	13,599
Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee	13,575
Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana	13,310
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana	13,042
Excelsior University Albany, New York	12,941
Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas	12,938
University of Denver Denver, Colorado	12,813
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide Daytona Beach, Florida	12,770

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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.