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
Eastern Connecticut State University Willimantic, Connecticut	83%
University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, Massachusetts	83%
Grand Valley State University Allendale, Michigan	83%
South Carolina State University Orangeburg, South Carolina	83%
Angelo State University San Angelo, Texas	83%
University of Washington Tacoma Campus Tacoma, Washington	83%
University of Connecticut Stamford Stamford, Connecticut	83%
Arkansas State University Jonesboro, Arkansas	82%
Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, Colorado	82%
Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas	82%
Morgan State University Baltimore, Maryland	82%
Towson University Towson, Maryland	82%
Montana State University Bozeman, Montana	82%
Fayetteville State University Fayetteville, North Carolina	82%
Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina	82%
Southern Utah University Cedar City, Utah	82%
Vermont State University Randolph, Vermont	82%
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Eau Claire, Wisconsin	82%

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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.