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Best Liberal Arts Colleges

US News 2027 liberal arts college rankings. Small, undergrad-only colleges with high PhD-feeder rates.

Top entries are curated; the rest are auto-extended by selectivity.

#SchoolLocation Accept SAT mid-50% ACT mid-50% Undergrads Avg Class Size Type
#1 Williams Williamstown, Massachusetts 7.4% 1500-1560 33-35 2,000 ~13 est. private View
#2 Amherst Amherst, Massachusetts 6.8% 1490-1560 33-35 1,900 ~15 est. private View
#3 Bowdoin Brunswick, Maine 6.8% 1470-1540 33-35 1,841 ~20 est. private View
#4 Claremont McKenna Claremont, California 9.6% 1490-1550 32-35 1,398 ~18 est. private View
#5 Pomona Claremont, California 6.9% 1500-1550 32-35 1,732 ~15 est. private View
#6 Swarthmore Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 7.5% 1500-1550 33-35 1,623 ~18 est. private View
#7 United States Naval Academy Maryland 9.3% 1210-1410 25-31 4,474 ~31 est. public View
#8 Harvey Mudd Claremont, California 12.7% 1510-1560 34-36 900 ~18 est. private View
#9 United States Military Academy New York 12.4% 1200-1420 27-33 4,393 ~31 est. public View
#10 Wellesley Wellesley, Massachusetts 14.1% 1470-1550 32-35 2,500 ~15 est. private View
#11 United States Air Force Academy Colorado 14.1% 1230-1440 26-33 4,114 ~31 est. public View
#12 Vassar Poughkeepsie, New York 20.9% 1460-1530 32-34 2,400 ~18 est. private View
#13 Washington and Lee Virginia 14.0% 1430-1540 33-34 2,241 ~20 est. private View
#14 Hamilton Clinton, New York 13.5% 1460-1530 33-35 2,037 ~20 est. private View
#15 Wesleyan Middletown, Connecticut 16.1% 1300-1500 31-34 3,805 ~18 est. private View
#16 Carleton Northfield, Minnesota 20.4% 1470-1530 33-35 2,069 ~20 est. private View
#17 Davidson Davidson, North Carolina 12.6% 1360-1490 31-34 1,900 ~20 est. private View
#18 Grinnell Grinnell, Iowa 14.5% 1430-1520 31-34 1,788 ~20 est. private View
#19 Barnard New York, New York 10.1% 1470-1540 33-35 2,600 ~24 est. private View
#20 Middlebury Middlebury, Vermont 17.5% 1445-1530 33-35 2,760 ~18 est. private View
#21 University of Richmond Virginia 22.2% 1430-1510 33-35 3,300 ~24 est. private View
#22 Colby Waterville, Maine 8.0% 1470-1530 32-34 2,200 ~22 est. private View
#23 Colgate Hamilton, New York 13.9% 1450-1530 33-34 3,200 ~20 est. private View
#24 Holy Cross Massachusetts 22.0% 1340-1490 31-33 3,100 ~24 est. private View
#25 Bates Lewiston, Maine 13.3% 1410-1490 31-33 1,900 ~22 est. private View
#26 Haverford Haverford, Pennsylvania 13.3% 1470-1540 33-35 1,400 ~18 est. private View
#27 Macalester Saint Paul, Minnesota 28.2% 1360-1520 29-34 2,200 ~22 est. private View
#28 Bucknell Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 28.9% 1170-1360 25-33 3,617 ~20 est. private View
#29 Lafayette Pennsylvania 32.3% 1370-1490 30-33 2,700 ~20 est. private View
#30 Bryn Mawr Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 29.4% 1290-1490 29-33 1,300 ~15 est. private View
#31 Denison University Ohio 65.0% 1340-1470 29-32 2,394 ~20 est. private View
#32 Trinity College Hartford, Connecticut 38.0% 1300-1430 29-32 2,200 ~20 est. private View
#33 Colorado College Colorado 18.5% 1240-1440 31-34 2,100 ~20 est. private View
#34 Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania 28.2% 1330-1430 30-33 1,808 ~20 est. private View
#35 Mount Holyoke South Hadley, Massachusetts 36.0% 1410-1510 32-33 2,200 ~20 est. private View
#36 Spelman Atlanta, Georgia 43.0% 1130-1303 22-27 2,200 ~24 est. private View
#37 Occidental Los Angeles, California 26.0% 1400-1495 31-34 1,938 ~22 est. private View
#38 Scripps Claremont, California 38.3% 1440-1520 31-34 1,000 ~24 est. private View
#39 Trinity University Texas 25.9% 1300-1470 31-34 2,423 ~20 est. private View
#40 Kenyon Gambier, Ohio 31.0% 1370-1473 31-33 2,249 ~20 est. private View
#41 Smith Northampton, Massachusetts 21.0% 1450-1520 32-35 2,500 ~15 est. private View
#42 Oberlin Oberlin, Ohio 34.2% 1360-1500 30-33 2,900 ~20 est. private View
#43 Pitzer Claremont, California 25.2% 1340-1490 31-33 1,227 ~26 est. private View
#44 Reed Portland, Oregon 29.2% 1320-1490 30-34 1,500 ~20 est. private View
#45 Skidmore Saratoga Springs, New York 21.1% 1340-1450 31-34 2,700 ~20 est. private View
#46 Whitman Walla Walla, Washington 38.2% 1330-1480 29-33 1,561 ~20 est. private View
#47 Connecticut College New London, Connecticut 37.0% 1160-1400 30-33 1,800 ~20 est. private View
#48 Caltech Pasadena, California 3.8% 1530-1580 35-36 987 ~8 est. private View
#49 Juilliard New York, New York 8.0% 1100-1400 21-31 600 ~9 est. private View
#50 Cooper Union New York, New York 11.0% 1340-1500 30-34 900 ~15 est. private View
#51 Olin College Needham, Massachusetts 18.0% 1483-1528 34-35 400 ~15 est. private View
#52 Berea College Kentucky 19.3% 1156-1335 23-28 1,513 ~20 est. private View
#53 Babson Wellesley, Massachusetts 17.1% 1410-1500 29-32 2,500 ~29 est. private View
#54 Rhode Island School of Design Providence, Rhode Island 18.7% 1396-1530 31-34 2,092 ~20 est. private View
#55 Hillsdale College Michigan 20.7% 1320-1490 30-33 1,573 ~20 est. private View
#56 California Institute of the Arts California 32.3% None-None None-None 860 ~20 est. private View
#57 Gettysburg Pennsylvania 38.9% 1280-1480 28-32 2,200 ~20 est. private View
#58 Brandeis Waltham, Massachusetts 40.5% 1415-1520 31-34 3,500 ~22 est. private View
#59 Bard New York 42.0% 1280-1450 29-33 2,000 ~20 est. private View
#60 Dickinson Pennsylvania 42.1% 1330-1440 28-32 2,100 ~20 est. private View
#61 Rhodes Tennessee 50.0% 1352-1470 28-32 1,793 ~20 est. private View
#62 The College of Wooster Ohio 59.5% 1250-1420 27-33 1,738 ~20 est. private View
#63 Lewis & Clark College Oregon 78.5% 1150-1330 24-30 2,500 ~20 est. private View
#64 Morehouse Atlanta, Georgia 33.0% 1010-1210 18-25 2,200 ~29 est. private View
#65 Fisk University Tennessee 37.4% 1140-1510 19-24 1,035 ~20 est. private View
#66 University of Tulsa Oklahoma 39.0% 1190-1410 25-32 2,700 ~20 est. private View
#67 Furman South Carolina 43.0% 1280-1417 28-32 2,505 ~20 est. private View
#68 Southwestern University Texas 43.0% 1150-1330 24-30 2,200 ~20 est. private View
#69 Union College New York 43.9% 1310-1480 29-33 2,046 ~20 est. private View
#70 Bennington Vermont 44.5% 1308-1375 30-32 700 ~20 est. private View
#71 Rollins College Florida 47.5% 1210-1340 25-30 2,200 ~20 est. private View
#72 St. Olaf Minnesota 48.3% 1300-1460 28-32 3,000 ~24 est. private View
#73 Tuskegee Tuskegee, Alabama 48.7% 970-1215 18-25 3,000 ~29 est. private View
#74 Sewanee Tennessee 51.0% 1236-1398 26-31 1,615 ~20 est. private View
#75 Emerson College Massachusetts 51.3% 1270-1420 29-32 3,870 ~24 est. private View
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