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.
Rhode Island School of Design
- Private 4 Year
- Providence, RI
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| 0 reviews
- 2,520 total enrollment
RISD is a highly selective private art and design college known for undergraduate fine arts, industrial design, and architecture. The urban Providence campus borders Brown University and offers a dual-degree program with it.
- SAT Range 1396-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.71
- Acceptance Rate 19%
- Net Price $43,492
Connecticut College
- Private 4 Year
- New London, CT
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4.8 | 4 reviews
- 1,990 total enrollment
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and international relations. Much of the campus sits within a large arboretum overlooking the Thames River.
- SAT Range 1350-1500
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 37%
- Net Price $45,700
Denison University
- Private 4 Year
- Granville, OH
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3.7 | 3 reviews
- 2,394 total enrollment
Denison is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, the sciences, and theatre. Most students live on the hillside residential campus in the village of Granville.
- SAT Range 1320-1490
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.76
- Acceptance Rate 17%
- Net Price $43,721
Muhlenberg College
- Private 4 Year
- Allentown, PA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,788 total enrollment
Muhlenberg is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate theater, biology, and media and communication. The residential campus sits in Allentown in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
- SAT Range 1250-1410
- Avg GPA 3.44
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $34,739
Macalester College
- Private 4 Year
- Saint Paul, MN
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,138 total enrollment
Macalester is a selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate international studies, political science, and economics. The urban campus sits in Saint Paul within the Twin Cities.
- SAT Range 1350-1510
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.81
- Acceptance Rate 29%
- Net Price $40,225
DePauw University
- Private 4 Year
- Greencastle, IN
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3.5 | 2 reviews
- 1,917 total enrollment
DePauw is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music and communication. Most students join the large Greek system on its college-town campus in Greencastle.
- SAT Range 1200-1410
- Avg GPA 3.97
- Acceptance Rate 57%
- Net Price $31,411
Furman University
- Private 4 Year
- Greenville, SC
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| 0 reviews
- 2,554 total enrollment
Furman is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate biology, political science, and business. The residential campus centers on a lake just outside Greenville.
- SAT Range 1260-1430
- Avg GPA 3.61
- Acceptance Rate 43%
- Net Price $34,086
Rhodes College
- Private 4 Year
- Memphis, TN
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4.5 | 2 reviews
- 1,861 total enrollment
Rhodes is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology and international studies. The collegiate Gothic campus sits in a wooded residential section of Memphis.
- SAT Range 1300-1486
- Avg GPA 3.99
- Acceptance Rate 50%
- Net Price $31,037
Virginia Military Institute
- Public 4 Year
- Lexington, VA
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5.0 | 2 reviews
- 1,527 total enrollment
VMI is a public military college known for undergraduate engineering and the sciences. All students join the Corps of Cadets and live in barracks under a military regimen on the historic Lexington campus.
- SAT Range 1050-1270
- Avg GPA 3.65
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $18,825
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Terre Haute, IN
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0.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,334 total enrollment
Rose-Hulman is a private college known for undergraduate engineering, science, and mathematics. Most students live on the residential campus in Terre Haute.
- SAT Range 1320-1500
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $45,406
Sarah Lawrence College
- Private 4 Year
- Bronxville, NY
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5.0 | 2 reviews
- 1,798 total enrollment
Sarah Lawrence is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate creative writing, the arts, and conference-based individualized study. The suburban Bronxville campus sits just north of New York City.
- SAT Range 1240-1430
- Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $43,629
St Lawrence University
- Private 4 Year
- Canton, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,991 total enrollment
St. Lawrence is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and international affairs. The residential campus sits in a small college town in northern New York near the Adirondacks.
- SAT Range 1255-1420
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 54%
- Net Price $33,216
Wheaton College
- Private 4 Year
- Wheaton, IL
-
4.0 | 3 reviews
- 2,874 total enrollment
Wheaton is a private evangelical Christian liberal arts college known for undergraduate biblical studies, theology, and the sciences. The residential campus sits in a western suburb of Chicago.
- SAT Range 1260-1470
- Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 87%
- Net Price $31,356
Centre College
- Private 4 Year
- Danville, KY
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,404 total enrollment
Centre is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, politics, and the natural sciences. Most students live on the residential campus in the small college town of Danville.
- SAT Range 1160-1450
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Acceptance Rate 54%
- Net Price $23,860
Wofford College
- Private 4 Year
- Spartanburg, SC
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3.1 | 8 reviews
- 1,817 total enrollment
Wofford is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology, finance, and government. The historic campus in Spartanburg has a large Greek system.
- SAT Range 1198-1343
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 52%
- Net Price $30,481
Oberlin College
- Private 4 Year
- Oberlin, OH
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5.0 | 3 reviews
- 2,909 total enrollment
Oberlin is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music through its Conservatory and for the arts. Most students live on a residential campus in the small college town of Oberlin.
- SAT Range 1360-1520
- Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 34%
- Net Price $51,624
Westmont College
- Private 4 Year
- Santa Barbara, CA
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,310 total enrollment
Westmont is a private Christian liberal arts college known for undergraduate programs in the sciences and humanities. The residential hillside campus overlooks the Pacific Ocean above Santa Barbara.
- SAT Range 1240-1450
- Avg GPA 3.59
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $32,172
Hobart William Smith Colleges
- Private 4 Year
- Geneva, NY
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,841 total enrollment
Hobart and William Smith is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and political science. The residential campus overlooks Seneca Lake in New York's Finger Lakes region.
- SAT Range 1190-1385
- Avg GPA 3.55
- Acceptance Rate 64%
- Net Price $34,170