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.
Evangel University
- Private 4 Year
- Springfield, MO
-
3.5 | 4 reviews
- 2,289 total enrollment
Evangel is a private Christian university known for undergraduate ministry, music, and education. It is the national university of the Assemblies of God.
- SAT Range 1040-1260
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.3
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $19,261
Mount Marty University
- Private 4 Year
- Yankton, SD
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,284 total enrollment
Mount Marty is a small private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing and education. The campus sits along the Missouri River in Yankton.
- SAT Range 810-1050
- Avg GPA 3.35
- Acceptance Rate 43%
- Net Price $22,242
La Roche University
- Private 4 Year
- Pittsburgh, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,153 total enrollment
La Roche is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing and design. The suburban campus sits in Pittsburgh's North Hills.
- SAT Range 940-1200
- Avg GPA 3.2
- Acceptance Rate 76%
- Net Price $24,108
SUNY Morrisville
- Public 4 Year
- Morrisville, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,186 total enrollment
SUNY Morrisville is a public college known for undergraduate agriculture, equine studies, and applied technology. The rural campus is set in the village of Morrisville in central New York.
- SAT Range 990-1230
- Avg GPA 2.7
- Acceptance Rate 92%
- Net Price $15,960
Aquinas College
- Private 4 Year
- Grand Rapids, MI
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,157 total enrollment
Aquinas is a private Dominican liberal arts college known for undergraduate education and business. The wooded campus sits in a residential neighborhood of Grand Rapids.
- SAT Range 910-1140
- Avg GPA 3.52
- Acceptance Rate 90%
- Net Price $18,018
Spalding University
- Private 4 Year
- Louisville, KY
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,553 total enrollment
Spalding is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing, health sciences, and education. The urban campus sits in downtown Louisville.
- SAT Range 875-1038
- Avg GPA 3.87
- Acceptance Rate 99%
- Net Price $25,999
University of Jamestown
- Private 4 Year
- Jamestown, ND
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,376 total enrollment
University of Jamestown is a private university known for undergraduate nursing and teacher education. The residential campus sits in the small city of Jamestown in central North Dakota.
- SAT Range 900-1140
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.25
- Acceptance Rate 88%
- Net Price $20,510
Tennessee Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Athens, TN
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,198 total enrollment
Tennessee Wesleyan is a small private Methodist university known for undergraduate nursing, business, and education. The campus sits in the small town of Athens in East Tennessee.
- SAT Range 960-1100
- Avg GPA 3.5
- Acceptance Rate 69%
- Net Price $15,125
Dickinson State University
- Public 4 Year
- Dickinson, ND
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,410 total enrollment
Dickinson State is a small public university known for undergraduate teacher education and nursing. The campus is in the small city of Dickinson in western North Dakota.
- SAT Range 875-1130
- Avg GPA 3.11
- Acceptance Rate 37%
- Net Price $14,698
Keene State College
- Public 4 Year
- Keene, NH
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,848 total enrollment
Keene State is a public liberal arts college known for undergraduate teacher education and occupational safety studies. The compact campus sits in the small city of Keene in southwestern New Hampshire.
- SAT Range 970-1170
- Avg GPA 3.1
- Acceptance Rate 90%
- Net Price $19,997
Grace College and Theological Seminary
- Private 4 Year
- Winona Lake, IN
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
- 2,304 total enrollment
Grace College is a private Christian college known for undergraduate biblical studies and ministry. The campus sits beside Winona Lake in northern Indiana.
- SAT Range 1000-1200
- Avg GPA 3.59
- Acceptance Rate 82%
- Net Price $21,065
Neumann University
- Private 4 Year
- Aston, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,244 total enrollment
Neumann is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing, health sciences, and education. The suburban Aston campus follows a Franciscan tradition just outside Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 905-1085
- Avg GPA 3.23
- Acceptance Rate 81%
- Net Price $28,469
Marian University
- Private 4 Year
- Fond Du Lac, WI
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,246 total enrollment
Marian is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing and education. The small campus lies in Fond du Lac at the southern end of Lake Winnebago.
- SAT Range 800-1080
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.16
- Acceptance Rate 75%
- Net Price $22,697
Fisher College
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,652 total enrollment
Fisher is a private college known for undergraduate business, criminal justice, and hospitality management. The compact urban campus sits in Boston's Back Bay.
- SAT Range 800-1070
- Avg GPA 2.72
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $28,596
Adrian College
- Private 4 Year
- Adrian, MI
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
- 1,765 total enrollment
Adrian is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate business, education, and exercise science. The residential campus sits in the small city of Adrian in southeast Michigan.
- SAT Range 873-1140
- Avg GPA 3.2
- Acceptance Rate 73%
- Net Price $25,922
Cleary University
- Private 4 Year
- Howell, MI
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,004 total enrollment
Cleary is a private university known for undergraduate business and management programs. The campus is in Howell, a smaller city in southeastern Michigan.
- SAT Range 950-1170
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.17
- Acceptance Rate 68%
- Net Price $23,705
Johnson & Wales University Charlotte
- Private 4 Year
- Charlotte, NC
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,184 total enrollment
Johnson & Wales Charlotte is a private university known for undergraduate culinary arts, hospitality management, and business. The urban campus is located in uptown Charlotte.
- SAT Range 880-1130
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 80%
- Net Price $28,084
Penn State Abington
- Public 4 Year
- Abington, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,885 total enrollment
Penn State Abington is a public regional campus of Penn State known for undergraduate business, nursing, and information sciences. The suburban campus sits just north of Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1070-1265
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.42
- Acceptance Rate 97%
- Net Price $19,232