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
Lewis Clark State College Lewiston, Idaho	88%
Illinois State University Normal, Illinois	88%
Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, Massachusetts	88%
Worcester State University Worcester, Massachusetts	88%
Oakland University Rochester Hills, Michigan	88%
Minnesota State University Mankato Mankato, Minnesota	88%
University of Minnesota Crookston Crookston, Minnesota	88%
University of New Hampshire Main Campus Durham, New Hampshire	88%
Plymouth State University Plymouth, New Hampshire	88%
Montclair State University Montclair, New Jersey	88%
University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon	88%
Dakota State University Madison, South Dakota	88%
The University of Tennessee Martin Martin, Tennessee	88%
Norfolk State University Norfolk, Virginia	88%
University of Wisconsin Stout Menomonie, Wisconsin	88%
University of Connecticut Avery Point Groton, Connecticut	88%
University of Connecticut Hartford Campus Hartford, Connecticut	88%
University of North Alabama Florence, Alabama	87%

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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.