Best Small Colleges in the US
Small colleges punch above their weight: faculty know your name, classes have 12 students not 200, and the alumni network feels personal for the rest of your career. The tradeoff is fewer major options and less infrastructure than a big university. This list ranks small colleges (under ~5,000 undergrads) by four-year graduation rate.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
- 1
St. John Vianney College Seminary
Florida · Private nonprofit
100%4-year grad rate - 2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
96%4-year grad rate - 3
Dartmouth College
New Hampshire · Private nonprofit
96%4-year grad rate - 4
Curtis Institute of Music
Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit
96%4-year grad rate - 5
Bowdoin College
Maine · Private nonprofit
95%4-year grad rate - 6
Rice University
Texas · Private nonprofit
95%4-year grad rate - 7
Williams College
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
95%4-year grad rate - 8C
California Northstate University
California · Private for-profit
95%4-year grad rate - 9
Washington and Lee University
Virginia · Private nonprofit
94%4-year grad rate - 10
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
94%4-year grad rate - 11
California Institute of Technology
California · Private nonprofit
94%4-year grad rate - 12
Amherst College
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
94%4-year grad rate - 13
Claremont McKenna College
California · Private nonprofit
93%4-year grad rate - 14
Pomona College
California · Private nonprofit
93%4-year grad rate - 15
Swarthmore College
Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit
93%4-year grad rate - 16
Barnard College
New York · Private nonprofit
93%4-year grad rate - 17
Harvey Mudd College
California · Private nonprofit
93%4-year grad rate - 18
Babson College
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
93%4-year grad rate - 19
United States Naval Academy
Maryland · Public
92%4-year grad rate - 20
Wesleyan University
Connecticut · Private nonprofit
92%4-year grad rate - 21
Middlebury College
Vermont · Private nonprofit
92%4-year grad rate - 22
Davidson College
North Carolina · Private nonprofit
91%4-year grad rate - 23
Wellesley College
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
91%4-year grad rate - 24
The Juilliard School
New York · Private nonprofit
91%4-year grad rate - 25
Hamilton College
New York · Private nonprofit
91%4-year grad rate
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