United States Public Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 633 public colleges in the United States with the highest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. Athens State 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.

List of United States Public Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate
College	Acceptance Rate
University of Nevada Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada	96%
Wright State University Main Campus Dayton, Ohio	96%
Penn State Beaver Monaca, Pennsylvania	96%
Penn State Hazleton Hazleton, Pennsylvania	96%
Penn State Greater Allegheny McKeesport, Pennsylvania	96%
Black Hills State University Spearfish, South Dakota	96%
Austin Peay State University Clarksville, Tennessee	96%
University of Houston Victoria Victoria, Texas	96%
Texas Woman's University Denton, Texas	96%
The Evergreen State College Olympia, Washington	96%
Marshall University Huntington, West Virginia	96%
West Virginia State University Institute, West Virginia	96%
California State University Fresno Fresno, California	95%
California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, California	95%
Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, Colorado	95%
University of Hawaii West Oahu Kapolei, Hawaii	95%
Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts	95%
Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, Minnesota	95%

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.