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.
| College | Enrollment |
|---|---|
|
University of Saint Francis Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana |
1,763 |
|
Bates College
Lewiston, Maine |
1,760 |
|
University of Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa |
1,757 |
|
Muskingum University
New Concord, Ohio |
1,751 |
|
The College of Wooster
Wooster, Ohio |
1,738 |
|
Columbia College
Columbia, South Carolina |
1,725 |
|
The University of the South
Sewanee, Tennessee |
1,724 |
|
Linfield University
McMinnville, Oregon |
1,709 |
|
Northwestern College
Orange City, Iowa |
1,705 |
|
Bryan College Dayton
Dayton, Tennessee |
1,701 |
|
Pomona College
Claremont, California |
1,700 |
|
Cornerstone University
Grand Rapids, Michigan |
1,695 |
|
Benedict College
Columbia, South Carolina |
1,691 |
|
Maryland Institute College of Art
Baltimore, Maryland |
1,687 |
|
Randolph Macon College
Ashland, Virginia |
1,687 |
|
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania |
1,679 |
|
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Mount Vernon, Ohio |
1,671 |
|
Lasell University
Newton, Massachusetts |
1,668 |
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.