Highest Acceptance Rate U.S. Colleges

CollegeSimply lists 1151 four-year colleges that accept 75% or more of applicants, ranked by acceptance rate from highest to lowest. These are strong safety school candidates if your GPA and test scores meet their typical ranges.

355 colleges accept 100% of applicants. Examples include Amridge University, Athens State University, Miles College and Selma University.

High acceptance does not always mean low academic standards. You still need sufficient grades unless a school has guaranteed admission. Use the filters below to narrow by GPA, SAT, or ACT and see your estimated admission chance at each school. See also best and popular colleges with high acceptance rates, or the most selective colleges.

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High Acceptance % Public Private 4 Year
Johnson & Wales University Charlotte Campus
 

  • Private 4 Year
  • Charlotte, NC
  • | 0 reviews
  • 80% acceptance rate

Johnson & Wales Charlotte is a private university known for undergraduate culinary arts, hospitality management, and business. The urban campus is located in uptown Charlotte.

#12 Best Private Colleges in North Carolina 4/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 880-1130
  • Avg GPA NA
  • Net Price $28,084

  • Private 4 Year
  • Escondido, CA
  • | 0 reviews
  • 80% acceptance rate

John Paul the Great is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate film, media, and communications. The campus is in Escondido in northern San Diego County.

  • SAT Range 975-1270
  • Avg GPA 3.56
  • Net Price $35,175

  • Private 4 Year
  • West Hartford, CT
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

University of Saint Joseph is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and pharmacy. Founded as a women's college by the Sisters of Mercy, the West Hartford campus is now fully coeducational.

#8 Best Private Colleges in Connecticut 6/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 850-1170
  • Avg GPA 3.46
  • Net Price $29,300

  • Private 4 Year
  • Anderson, IN
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

Anderson University is a private Christian university known for undergraduate music, nursing, and business. Most students live on its residential campus in Anderson, northeast of Indianapolis.

#13 Best Private Colleges in Indiana 5/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 900-1150
  • Avg GPA 3.4
  • Net Price $25,332
MidAmerica Nazarene University Campus
 

  • Private 4 Year
  • Olathe, KS
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

MidAmerica Nazarene is a private Nazarene university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and ministry. The suburban campus sits in the Kansas City metro area.

#3 Best Private Colleges in Kansas 5/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 950-1090
  • Avg GPA 3.28
  • Net Price $32,081

  • Public 4 Year
  • Louisville, KY
  • 5.0 | 2 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate
  • Feb 15 application deadline

UofL is a large public university known for undergraduate engineering and business. Most undergraduates study on the urban Belknap Campus in Louisville.

#1 Best Public Universities in Kentucky 6/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1040-1270
  • Avg GPA 3.64
  • Net Price $19,785

  • Public 4 Year
  • New Orleans, LA
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate
  • Jul 1 application deadline

Southern University at New Orleans is a public HBCU known for undergraduate social work, criminal justice, and business. The urban campus occupies a site in New Orleans's Gentilly area.

3/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 820-1050
  • Avg GPA 2.4
  • Net Price $14,480

  • Public 4 Year
  • Portland, ME
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

USM is a public university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and business. Students split time between an urban Portland campus and a residential campus in nearby Gorham.

#2 Best Public Universities in Maine 5/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 990-1250
  • Avg GPA 3.33
  • Net Price $14,028

  • Public 4 Year
  • Baltimore, MD
  • 5.0 | 2 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

University of Baltimore is a public university known for undergraduate business, criminal justice, and legal studies. The urban campus sits in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood.

8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 740-1330
  • Avg GPA 2.89
  • Net Price $14,545

  • Private 4 Year
  • Owings Mills, MD
  • 3.0 | 2 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

Stevenson is a private university known for undergraduate nursing, forensic science, and business. The suburban Owings Mills campus sits northwest of Baltimore.

0/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range -
  • Avg GPA 3.1
  • Net Price $27,162

  • Private 4 Year
  • Flint, MI
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

Kettering is a private university known for undergraduate mechanical, electrical, and industrial engineering. The campus sits in Flint, a mid-sized Michigan city long tied to the auto industry.

#3 Best Colleges in Michigan 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1160-1330
  • Avg GPA 3.77
  • Net Price $35,609

  • Private 4 Year
  • Holland, MI
  • 3.8 | 4 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

Hope is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate chemistry, biology, and education. The residential campus sits in Holland near the Lake Michigan shore.

#3 Best Private Colleges in Michigan 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1100-1340
  • Avg GPA 3.83
  • Net Price $30,700
Concordia University Saint Paul Campus
 

  • Private 4 Year
  • Saint Paul, MN
  • 4.0 | 1 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate
  • Aug 1 application deadline

Concordia St. Paul is a private Lutheran university known for undergraduate education, nursing, and business. The compact urban campus sits in Saint Paul near downtown and the Mississippi River.

  • SAT Range -
  • Avg GPA 3.14
  • Net Price $18,028
Westminster College Campus
 

  • Private 4 Year
  • Fulton, MO
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

Westminster is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate business, education, and political science. The Fulton campus houses the National Churchill Museum, site of Winston Churchill's 1946 Iron Curtain speech.

6/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 990-1250
  • Avg GPA 3.44
  • Net Price $24,358

  • Private 4 Year
  • Lakewood, NJ
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

Georgian Court is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and business. The historic Lakewood campus occupies a former Gilded Age estate with formal gardens.

#9 Best Private Colleges in New Jersey 5/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1043-1251
  • Avg GPA 3.59
  • Net Price $20,457

  • Private 4 Year
  • Lawrenceville, NJ
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

Rider is a private university known for undergraduate business, accounting, and music through Westminster Choir College. The suburban campus is in Lawrenceville near Princeton.

#4 Best Private Colleges in New Jersey 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1100-1320
  • Avg GPA 3.41
  • Net Price $26,506

  • Private 4 Year
  • Riverdale, NY
  • 4.5 | 2 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate
  • Aug 31 application deadline

Manhattan University is a private Lasallian Catholic university known for undergraduate engineering. The residential campus is in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

#30 Best Private Colleges in New York
  • SAT Range 1180-1358
  • Avg GPA 3.63
  • Net Price $29,717

  • Private 4 Year
  • Marietta, OH
  • | 0 reviews
  • 79% acceptance rate

Marietta is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate petroleum engineering and environmental science. The campus sits in a historic town along the Ohio River.

#17 Best Private Colleges in Ohio 6/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1040-1200
  • Avg GPA 3.54
  • Net Price $22,007