The Best Small Colleges
These are the top ranked small, public and private, four-year colleges in the United States as ranked by CollegeSimply. These schools all have total enrollment under 3,000. Small colleges allow students a more intimate and personalized experience where it's more likely you will get to know your professors. Leading the list for 2027 is California Institute of Technology. Learn how the Best Small Colleges rankings are calculated on our ranking methodology page.
Thomas More University
- Private 4 Year
- Crestview Hills, KY
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| 0 reviews
- 2,350 total enrollment
Thomas More is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing and business. The suburban campus in Crestview Hills sits just south of Cincinnati.
- SAT Range 1030-1230
- Avg GPA 3.35
- Acceptance Rate 90%
- Net Price $22,297
MidAmerica Nazarene University
- Private 4 Year
- Olathe, KS
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| 0 reviews
- 1,538 total enrollment
MidAmerica Nazarene is a private Nazarene university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and ministry. The suburban campus sits in the Kansas City metro area.
- SAT Range 950-1090
- Avg GPA 3.28
- Acceptance Rate 79%
- Net Price $32,081
Valley City State University
- Public 4 Year
- Valley City, ND
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| 0 reviews
- 1,806 total enrollment
Valley City State is a small public university known for undergraduate teacher education. The campus sits in the small town of Valley City along the Sheyenne River.
- SAT Range 830-1070
- Avg GPA 3.31
- Acceptance Rate 99%
- Net Price $12,442
Chaminade University of Honolulu
- Private 4 Year
- Honolulu, HI
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| 0 reviews
- 2,709 total enrollment
Chaminade is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing, criminal justice, and forensic sciences. The urban Honolulu campus follows a Marianist tradition in a residential neighborhood setting.
- SAT Range 970-1250
- Avg GPA 3.42
- Acceptance Rate 91%
- Net Price $28,261
University of Saint Francis Fort Wayne
- Private 4 Year
- Fort Wayne, IN
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3.0 | 2 reviews
- 1,763 total enrollment
University of Saint Francis is a private Franciscan university known for undergraduate nursing, health sciences, and education. The residential campus in Fort Wayne centers Catholic and Franciscan campus life.
- SAT Range 870-1070
- Avg GPA 3.37
- Acceptance Rate 96%
- Net Price $18,654
University of Saint Mary
- Private 4 Year
- Leavenworth, KS
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| 0 reviews
- 1,462 total enrollment
University of Saint Mary is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing and education. The campus is in historic Leavenworth, near the Kansas City metro area.
- SAT Range 806-1028
- Avg GPA 3.36
- Acceptance Rate 87%
- Net Price $23,020
North Greenville University
- Private 4 Year
- Tigerville, SC
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| 0 reviews
- 2,304 total enrollment
North Greenville is a private Christian university known for undergraduate programs in Christian studies, education, and business. The residential campus lies in the Blue Ridge foothills of rural Tigerville.
- SAT Range 1060-1240
- Avg GPA 3.84
- Acceptance Rate 67%
- Net Price $21,346
Oglethorpe University
- Private 4 Year
- Atlanta, GA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,425 total enrollment
Oglethorpe is a private liberal arts college known for a required undergraduate core curriculum in the humanities and sciences. The wooded campus sits in Atlanta's Brookhaven neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1090-1310
- Avg GPA 3.73
- Acceptance Rate 88%
- Net Price $20,490
University of Dubuque
- Private 4 Year
- Dubuque, IA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,757 total enrollment
University of Dubuque is a private Presbyterian university known for undergraduate aviation and nursing. Most students live on the residential campus near the Mississippi River.
- SAT Range 980-1220
- Avg GPA 3.24
- Acceptance Rate 89%
- Net Price $26,067
Virginia Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Virginia Beach, VA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,853 total enrollment
Virginia Wesleyan is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate programs in the arts and sciences. The wooded campus sits in suburban Virginia Beach near the Atlantic coast.
- SAT Range 1140-1350
- Avg GPA 3.39
- Acceptance Rate 73%
- Net Price $21,267
Converse University
- Private 4 Year
- Spartanburg, SC
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,787 total enrollment
Converse is a private university known for undergraduate music and the visual and performing arts. Its historic campus in Spartanburg was long a women's college and is now coeducational.
- SAT Range 1010-1250
- Avg GPA 3.89
- Acceptance Rate 68%
- Net Price $19,061
Madonna University
- Private 4 Year
- Livonia, MI
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| 0 reviews
- 2,124 total enrollment
Madonna is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing and education. The suburban campus sits in Livonia in the Detroit metro area.
- SAT Range 880-1080
- Avg GPA 3.35
- Acceptance Rate 63%
- Net Price $18,373
La Sierra University
- Private 4 Year
- Riverside, CA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,574 total enrollment
La Sierra is a private Seventh-day Adventist university known for undergraduate business, education, and biology. The suburban campus sits in Riverside east of Los Angeles.
- SAT Range 880-1140
- Avg GPA 3.54
- Acceptance Rate 91%
- Net Price $23,848
Mercy College of Ohio
- Private 4 Year
- Toledo, OH
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| 0 reviews
- 1,096 total enrollment
Mercy College of Ohio is a private Catholic college known for undergraduate nursing and allied health programs. The urban Toledo campus is tied to the Mercy Health system and the Sisters of Mercy tradition.
- SAT Range 790-1010
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 93%
- Net Price $15,311
Northwest Nazarene University
- Private 4 Year
- Nampa, ID
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| 0 reviews
- 1,635 total enrollment
Northwest Nazarene is a private Christian university known for undergraduate education, nursing, and theology. The suburban campus is in Nampa, in Idaho's Treasure Valley near Boise.
- SAT Range 1005-1240
- Avg GPA 3.59
- Acceptance Rate 65%
- Net Price $30,178
Franklin Pierce University
- Private 4 Year
- Rindge, NH
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| 0 reviews
- 1,654 total enrollment
Franklin Pierce is a private university known for undergraduate nursing, health sciences, and sports management. The rural campus sits near Mount Monadnock and Pearly Pond in southwestern New Hampshire.
- SAT Range 1057-1282
- Avg GPA 2.97
- Acceptance Rate 93%
- Net Price $26,152
Methodist University
- Private 4 Year
- Fayetteville, NC
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| 0 reviews
- 1,822 total enrollment
Methodist University is a private university known for undergraduate PGA golf management and business. The campus sits in Fayetteville near Fort Liberty.
- SAT Range 1080-1250
- Avg GPA 3.58
- Acceptance Rate 75%
- Net Price $26,334
Penn State Berks
- Public 4 Year
- Reading, PA
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4.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,884 total enrollment
Penn State Berks is a small public campus of Penn State known for undergraduate business, engineering, and information sciences. The suburban campus is located just outside Reading.
- SAT Range 1090-1275
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.39
- Acceptance Rate 99%
- Net Price $23,721