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.
Scripps College
- Private 4 Year
- Claremont, CA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,137 total enrollment
Scripps is a private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate arts, humanities, and its interdisciplinary Core Curriculum. Most students live on the residential campus and take classes across the Claremont Colleges consortium.
- SAT Range 1440-1540
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Acceptance Rate 38%
- Net Price $44,396
Skidmore College
- Private 4 Year
- Saratoga Springs, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,704 total enrollment
Skidmore is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate studio art, performing arts, and business. The residential campus sits in the historic spa town of Saratoga Springs.
- SAT Range 1340-1480
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 21%
- Net Price $31,187
Grinnell College
- Private 4 Year
- Grinnell, IA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,788 total enrollment
Grinnell is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for an open curriculum and undergraduate work in the sciences and social sciences. Most undergrads live on the residential campus in the small town of Grinnell.
- SAT Range 1410-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.89
- Acceptance Rate 15%
- Net Price $34,363
Franklin and Marshall College
- Private 4 Year
- Lancaster, PA
-
3.8 | 6 reviews
- 1,808 total enrollment
Franklin and Marshall is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate government and the natural sciences. Most students live on a residential campus in the city of Lancaster.
- SAT Range 1310-1463
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 28%
- Net Price $43,987
Kenyon College
- Private 4 Year
- Gambier, OH
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,249 total enrollment
Kenyon is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate English and creative writing. The rural campus occupies much of the small village of Gambier.
- SAT Range 1358-1503
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.84
- Acceptance Rate 31%
- Net Price $46,859
Trinity University
- Private 4 Year
- San Antonio, TX
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,687 total enrollment
Trinity is a private university known for undergraduate business, communication, and the sciences. Most students live on a residential hilltop campus overlooking downtown San Antonio.
- SAT Range 1340-1500
- Avg GPA 3.68
- Acceptance Rate 26%
- Net Price $32,224
Smith College
- Private 4 Year
- Northampton, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,857 total enrollment
Smith is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering, government, and the arts. Students live on a historic campus in Northampton and can cross-register through the Five College Consortium.
- SAT Range 1420-1540
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Acceptance Rate 21%
- Net Price $27,305
Lafayette College
- Private 4 Year
- Easton, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,775 total enrollment
Lafayette is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering alongside the liberal arts. The residential hillside campus in Easton overlooks the Delaware and Lehigh rivers.
- SAT Range 1350-1500
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Acceptance Rate 31%
- Net Price $38,442
Occidental College
- Private 4 Year
- Los Angeles, CA
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- 1,881 total enrollment
Occidental is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate politics, international relations, and the sciences. The residential campus sits in Los Angeles's Eagle Rock neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1380-1520
- Avg GPA 3.63
- Acceptance Rate 44%
- Net Price $48,400
Dickinson College
- Private 4 Year
- Carlisle, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,314 total enrollment
Dickinson is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate international studies, foreign languages, and environmental science. The historic campus sits in the small college town of Carlisle in central Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1310-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 42%
- Net Price $38,483
Reed College
- Private 4 Year
- Portland, OR
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,358 total enrollment
Reed is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences and humanities. All seniors complete a required year-long thesis on a wooded residential campus in southeast Portland.
- SAT Range 1290-1520
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Acceptance Rate 25%
- Net Price $30,953
Colorado College
- Private 4 Year
- Colorado Springs, CO
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,056 total enrollment
Colorado College is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and geology. Students take one course at a time under the Block Plan in intensive three-and-a-half-week sessions.
- SAT Range 1230-1460
- Avg GPA 3.98
- Acceptance Rate 18%
- Net Price $36,123
Gettysburg College
- Private 4 Year
- Gettysburg, PA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 2,812 total enrollment
Gettysburg is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate history and political science. The campus borders Gettysburg National Military Park and the Civil War battlefield.
- SAT Range 1270-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 39%
- Net Price $32,769
Mount Holyoke College
- Private 4 Year
- South Hadley, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,275 total enrollment
Mount Holyoke is a private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, international relations, and economics. The South Hadley campus is part of the Five College Consortium with Amherst, Smith, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst.
- SAT Range 1380-1530
- Avg GPA 3.87
- Acceptance Rate 36%
- Net Price $32,526
Bryn Mawr College
- Private 4 Year
- Bryn Mawr, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,679 total enrollment
Bryn Mawr is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, archaeology, and classics. The suburban Main Line campus outside Philadelphia shares courses and resources with nearby Haverford and Swarthmore.
- SAT Range 1280-1510
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
- Acceptance Rate 29%
- Net Price $33,221
Union College
- Private 4 Year
- Schenectady, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,065 total enrollment
Union is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering alongside the sciences and social sciences. Most students belong to Minerva Houses that organize dining and campus social life.
- SAT Range 1310-1480
- Avg GPA 3.5
- Acceptance Rate 44%
- Net Price $42,137
Whitman College
- Private 4 Year
- Walla Walla, WA
-
3.4 | 5 reviews
- 1,561 total enrollment
Whitman is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology, chemistry, and environmental studies. The residential campus sits in the small college town of Walla Walla.
- SAT Range 1310-1480
- Avg GPA 3.68
- Acceptance Rate 38%
- Net Price $37,633
The University of the South
- Private 4 Year
- Sewanee, TN
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- 1,724 total enrollment
Sewanee is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate English, creative writing, and environmental studies. The campus occupies a 13,000-acre domain on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau.
- SAT Range 1260-1390
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 57%
- Net Price $34,815