The Best Mid Atlantic Small Colleges
These are the top ranked small, public and private, four-year colleges in the Mid Atlantic as ranked by CollegeSimply. These schools all have undergraduate 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 Hamilton College. Learn how the Best Small Colleges rankings are calculated on our ranking methodology page.
Hamilton College
- Private 4 Year
- Clinton, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 5 application deadline
Hamilton is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate writing, economics, and government. The hilltop campus sits in the small village of Clinton in upstate New York.
- SAT Range 1450-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.87
- Acceptance Rate 14%
- Net Price $28,719
Swarthmore College
- Private 4 Year
- Swarthmore, PA
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- Jan 4 application deadline
Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The suburban campus is a designated arboretum just outside Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1490-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 7%
- Net Price $22,469
Haverford College
- Private 4 Year
- Haverford, PA
-
5.0 | 7 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Haverford is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, economics, and political science. Students live under a student-run honor code on a suburban campus near Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1460-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 12%
- Net Price $26,535
Vassar College
- Private 4 Year
- Poughkeepsie, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Vassar is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate English, art history, and the sciences. Most students live on the historic residential campus in New York's Hudson Valley.
- SAT Range 1450-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Acceptance Rate 19%
- Net Price $29,981
Skidmore College
- Private 4 Year
- Saratoga Springs, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
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
Franklin and Marshall College
- Private 4 Year
- Lancaster, PA
-
3.8 | 6 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
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
Lafayette College
- Private 4 Year
- Easton, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
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
Dickinson College
- Private 4 Year
- Carlisle, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
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
Gettysburg College
- Private 4 Year
- Gettysburg, PA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
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
Bryn Mawr College
- Private 4 Year
- Bryn Mawr, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
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
- Jan 15 application deadline
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
Muhlenberg College
- Private 4 Year
- Allentown, PA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
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
Sarah Lawrence College
- Private 4 Year
- Bronxville, NY
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
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
- Feb 1 application deadline
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
Hobart William Smith Colleges
- Private 4 Year
- Geneva, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
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
Nazareth University
- Private 4 Year
- Rochester, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Nazareth is a private university known for undergraduate education, nursing, and music. The suburban campus sits in Pittsford just outside Rochester.
- SAT Range 1070-1320
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 75%
- Net Price $30,785
Bard College
- Private 4 Year
- Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Bard is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate arts, music, and literature. The campus overlooks the Hudson River in New York's Hudson Valley.
- SAT Range 1270-1450
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 52%
- Net Price $29,320
Allegheny College
- Private 4 Year
- Meadville, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
Allegheny is a private liberal arts college known for requiring a major and minor in different fields and a senior comprehensive project. The historic campus sits in the small college town of Meadville in northwestern Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1173-1358
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Acceptance Rate 55%
- Net Price $26,420