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.
John Carroll University
- Private 4 Year
- University Heights, OH
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| 0 reviews
- 2,864 total enrollment
John Carroll is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate business and the sciences. The suburban campus sits in University Heights near Cleveland.
- SAT Range 1180-1330
- Avg GPA 3.66
- Acceptance Rate 81%
- Net Price $30,030
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
- Public 4 Year
- Syracuse, NY
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| 0 reviews
- 2,757 total enrollment
ESF is a specialized public college known for undergraduate environmental science, forestry, and landscape architecture. The campus adjoins Syracuse University in Syracuse.
- SAT Range 1130-1300
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 63%
- Net Price $19,814
Milwaukee School of Engineering
- Private 4 Year
- Milwaukee, WI
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| 0 reviews
- 2,953 total enrollment
MSOE is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and nursing. The urban campus is located in downtown Milwaukee.
- SAT Range 1160-1405
- Avg GPA 3.65
- Acceptance Rate 59%
- Net Price $25,669
Kalamazoo College
- Private 4 Year
- Kalamazoo, MI
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,166 total enrollment
Kalamazoo is a private liberal arts college known for the K-Plan curriculum, extensive undergraduate study abroad, and a required senior individualized project. Most undergrads complete an extended off-campus study experience before graduation.
- SAT Range 1170-1380
- Avg GPA 3.73
- Acceptance Rate 75%
- Net Price $26,956
Kettering University
- Private 4 Year
- Flint, MI
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| 0 reviews
- 1,466 total enrollment
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.
- SAT Range 1160-1330
- Avg GPA 3.77
- Acceptance Rate 79%
- Net Price $35,609
Luther College
- Private 4 Year
- Decorah, IA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,384 total enrollment
Luther is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music and the sciences. The residential campus sits among the bluffs of Decorah in northeast Iowa.
- SAT Range 1078-1406
- Avg GPA 3.65
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $24,511
Linfield University
- Private 4 Year
- McMinnville, OR
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| 0 reviews
- 1,709 total enrollment
Linfield is a private university known for undergraduate nursing and wine studies. The residential campus sits in the small college town of McMinnville in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
- SAT Range 1050-1210
- Avg GPA 3.71
- Acceptance Rate 85%
- Net Price $29,936
Indiana Wesleyan University Marion
- Private 4 Year
- Marion, IN
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| 0 reviews
- 2,204 total enrollment
Indiana Wesleyan is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and ministry. The residential campus in Marion is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church.
- SAT Range 960-1180
- Avg GPA 3.61
- Acceptance Rate 89%
- Net Price $23,402
Saint Anselm College
- Private 4 Year
- Manchester, NH
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| 0 reviews
- 2,111 total enrollment
Saint Anselm is a private Catholic liberal arts college known for undergraduate politics and nursing. The Benedictine campus in Manchester has long hosted New Hampshire presidential primary debates.
- SAT Range 1110-1278
- Avg GPA 3.39
- Acceptance Rate 78%
- Net Price $35,551
Ursinus College
- Private 4 Year
- Collegeville, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,502 total enrollment
Ursinus is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology, neuroscience, and a required first-year common curriculum. The residential campus sits in suburban Collegeville northwest of Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1200-1385
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Acceptance Rate 92%
- Net Price $32,158
Concordia College at Moorhead
- Private 4 Year
- Moorhead, MN
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| 0 reviews
- 1,935 total enrollment
Concordia College is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music and education. Most students live on the residential campus in Moorhead, across the river from Fargo.
- SAT Range 1160-1420
- Avg GPA 3.58
- Acceptance Rate 63%
- Net Price $25,190
Washington & Jefferson College
- Private 4 Year
- Washington, PA
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4.0 | 2 reviews
- 1,309 total enrollment
Washington & Jefferson is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, pre-med, and pre-law. The historic campus is in the small city of Washington near Pittsburgh.
- SAT Range 1010-1250
- Avg GPA 3.54
- Acceptance Rate 81%
- Net Price $22,702
Chatham University
- Private 4 Year
- Pittsburgh, PA
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1.0 | 2 reviews
- 2,309 total enrollment
Chatham is a private university known for undergraduate sustainability, environmental studies, and the health sciences. The historic campus is in Pittsburgh's residential Shadyside neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1070-1295
- Avg GPA 3.86
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $31,280
Queens University of Charlotte
- Private 4 Year
- Charlotte, NC
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| 0 reviews
- 1,599 total enrollment
Queens is a private university known for undergraduate nursing, business, and communications. The historic campus sits in Charlotte's Myers Park neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1140-1340
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.41
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $31,839
Willamette University
- Private 4 Year
- Salem, OR
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4.8 | 4 reviews
- 2,180 total enrollment
Willamette is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate political science and government. The historic campus borders the Oregon State Capitol grounds in downtown Salem.
- SAT Range 1240-1440
- Avg GPA 3.97
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $29,421
Elizabethtown College
- Private 4 Year
- Elizabethtown, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 2,283 total enrollment
Elizabethtown is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate occupational therapy, business, and education. The residential campus is in a small central Pennsylvania borough and has historic Church of the Brethren ties.
- SAT Range 1105-1310
- Avg GPA 3.66
- Acceptance Rate 78%
- Net Price $27,760
Roberts Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Rochester, NY
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| 0 reviews
- 1,960 total enrollment
Roberts Wesleyan is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing and teacher education. The suburban campus sits outside Rochester in western New York.
- SAT Range 990-1305
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $23,275
Lake Forest College
- Private 4 Year
- Lake Forest, IL
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| 0 reviews
- 1,837 total enrollment
Lake Forest is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, business, and biology. The residential campus sits in a North Shore suburb of Chicago near Lake Michigan.
- SAT Range 1190-1393
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Acceptance Rate 57%
- Net Price $31,225