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 Brown University
- Private 4 Year
- Siloam Springs, AR
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| 0 reviews
- 2,350 total enrollment
John Brown is a private Christian university known for undergraduate engineering, nursing, and business. The residential campus is in the small college town of Siloam Springs in northwest Arkansas.
- SAT Range 1070-1340
- Avg GPA 3.77
- Acceptance Rate 76%
- Net Price $21,537
Juniata College
- Private 4 Year
- Huntingdon, PA
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5.0 | 2 reviews
- 1,321 total enrollment
Juniata is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate natural sciences and its Program of Emphasis, which lets students design individualized majors. The residential campus sits in the small town of Huntingdon along the Juniata River.
- SAT Range 1130-1320
- Avg GPA 3.81
- Acceptance Rate 79%
- Net Price $24,580
DeSales University
- Private 4 Year
- Center Valley, PA
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3.0 | 2 reviews
- 2,972 total enrollment
DeSales is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate theatre, nursing, and business. The suburban campus is in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
- SAT Range 1090-1260
- Avg GPA 3.39
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $31,732
The College of Saint Scholastica
- Private 4 Year
- Duluth, MN
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| 0 reviews
- 2,930 total enrollment
St. Scholastica is a private Benedictine college known for undergraduate nursing and health sciences. The wooded campus overlooks Lake Superior in Duluth.
- SAT Range 1110-1310
- Avg GPA 3.5
- Acceptance Rate 93%
- Net Price $26,083
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
- Public 4 Year
- Utica, NY
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| 0 reviews
- 2,733 total enrollment
SUNY Poly is a public polytechnic institute known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and cybersecurity. The Utica-area campus sits in Central New York.
- SAT Range 1025-1370
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 81%
- Net Price $14,782
Hamline University
- Private 4 Year
- Saint Paul, MN
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2.0 | 2 reviews
- 2,565 total enrollment
Hamline is a private university known for undergraduate education, business, and the liberal arts. The residential campus sits in a neighborhood setting in Saint Paul within the Twin Cities.
- SAT Range 1133-1391
- Avg GPA 3.48
- Acceptance Rate 88%
- Net Price $22,390
Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health
- Private 4 Year
- Omaha, NE
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| 0 reviews
- 1,067 total enrollment
Nebraska Methodist College is a private college known for undergraduate nursing and allied health programs. The urban Omaha campus is affiliated with Methodist Health System.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA 3.55
- Acceptance Rate 73%
- Net Price $21,634
Whitworth University
- Private 4 Year
- Spokane, WA
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| 0 reviews
- 2,314 total enrollment
Whitworth is a private Presbyterian university known for undergraduate education, business, and the sciences. The wooded residential campus sits in north Spokane.
- SAT Range 1090-1330
- Avg GPA 3.72
- Acceptance Rate 90%
- Net Price $27,605
Lebanon Valley College
- Private 4 Year
- Annville, PA
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3.5 | 2 reviews
- 2,146 total enrollment
Lebanon Valley is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music and physical therapy. The residential campus sits in the small town of Annville.
- SAT Range 1140-1302
- Avg GPA 3.79
- Acceptance Rate 84%
- Net Price $27,995
Lycoming College
- Private 4 Year
- Williamsport, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,012 total enrollment
Lycoming is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology, archaeology, and business. The residential campus sits in Williamsport along the Susquehanna River in north-central Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1080-1300
- Avg GPA 3.57
- Acceptance Rate 74%
- Net Price $20,492
Agnes Scott College
- Private 4 Year
- Decatur, GA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,079 total enrollment
Agnes Scott is a private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, writing, and global learning. The residential campus sits in historic Decatur, just outside Atlanta.
- SAT Range 1160-1330
- Avg GPA 3.77
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $27,499
University of Evansville
- Private 4 Year
- Evansville, IN
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| 0 reviews
- 2,114 total enrollment
University of Evansville is a private university known for undergraduate theatre and engineering. Many undergrads study abroad at Harlaxton College, its campus in a historic English manor.
- SAT Range 1045-1300
- Avg GPA 3.71
- Acceptance Rate 78%
- Net Price $18,773
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
- Public 4 Year
- Buzzards Bay, MA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,488 total enrollment
Mass Maritime is a public maritime academy known for undergraduate marine transportation, marine engineering, and maritime business. Most students join a regiment of cadets on a campus along the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay.
- SAT Range 1030-1185
- Avg GPA 3.25
- Acceptance Rate 95%
- Net Price $13,546
Gordon College
- Private 4 Year
- Wenham, MA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,595 total enrollment
Gordon is a private Christian liberal arts college known for undergraduate music, education, and psychology. Most students live on a wooded residential campus in the small North Shore town of Wenham.
- SAT Range 1130-1355
- Avg GPA 3.58
- Acceptance Rate 69%
- Net Price $25,299
Saint Vincent College
- Private 4 Year
- Latrobe, PA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,440 total enrollment
Saint Vincent is a private Benedictine liberal arts college known for undergraduate business and biology. The campus shares its grounds with Saint Vincent Archabbey in a small western Pennsylvania town.
- SAT Range 1020-1230
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $23,758
Drew University
- Private 4 Year
- Madison, NJ
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| 0 reviews
- 2,232 total enrollment
Drew is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate theater, political science, and the humanities. The forested campus sits in suburban Madison near New York City.
- SAT Range 1103-1338
- Avg GPA 3.1
- Acceptance Rate 68%
- Net Price $28,425
Otis College of Art and Design
- Private 4 Year
- Los Angeles, CA
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1.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,267 total enrollment
Otis is a private art and design college known for undergraduate fashion design, graphic design, and digital media. The urban campus is in Los Angeles's Westchester neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1265-1395
- Avg GPA 3.31
- Acceptance Rate 82%
- Net Price $54,295
College of Our Lady of the Elms
- Private 4 Year
- Chicopee, MA
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3.5 | 4 reviews
- 1,268 total enrollment
Elms College is a private Catholic college known for undergraduate nursing and education. The small campus is in Chicopee in western Massachusetts.
- SAT Range 1150-1320
- Avg GPA 3.42
- Acceptance Rate 85%
- Net Price $19,870