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
Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, Texas	94%
The University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, Texas	94%
California State University Chico Chico, California	93%
California State University Dominguez Hills Carson, California	93%
California State University Northridge Northridge, California	93%
Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, California	93%
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa	93%
University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas	93%
University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky	93%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana Natchitoches, Louisiana	93%
Jackson State University Jackson, Mississippi	93%
University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, North Carolina	93%
Northern State University Aberdeen, South Dakota	93%
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia	93%
Western Washington University Bellingham, Washington	93%
Concord University Athens, West Virginia	93%
University of Wisconsin Superior Superior, Wisconsin	93%
Auburn University at Montgomery Montgomery, Alabama	92%

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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.