The Most Selective Small Colleges in America

There are many reasons some students prefer the small college environment to larger universities. Small class sizes, more one-on-one time with professors and forming a closer bond with fellow students are all possible benefits for students who opt against going to a big school. But which small colleges are the most difficult to get into?

To answer this question, StartClass, an education research site powered by Graphiq, ranked the 30 most selective small colleges in America. To compile the ranking, the team looked for small universities with fewer than 5,000 undergraduate students and ranked them based on their acceptance rates. Specialty schools -- like schools of engineering and technology, military academies, business and management, and art, music and design -- were not taken into consideration.

Also included is the Smart Rating for each college, which is comprised of the following factors:

All data is for fall 2014 from the National Center for Education Statistics and is the most recent year available for admissions data. Of the 30 most selective small colleges, 17 have acceptance rates under 20 percent. The three most selective schools accept fewer than 10 percent of all undergraduate applicants, including the most difficult school to get into, which has an acceptance rate under 8 percent.

Acceptance rate: 26 percent
Location: Lake Wales, Florida

Smart Rating: 81.55
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,035
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (General)

Learn more about Warner University here.

Acceptance rate: 25.91 percent
Location: Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Smart Rating: 74.30
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,974
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (General)

Learn more about University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon here.

Acceptance rate: 25.42 percent
Location: Lewiston, Maine

Smart Rating: 93.38
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,773
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Bates College here.

Acceptance rate: 25.06 percent
Location: Gambier, Ohio

Smart Rating: 94.14
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,662
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Kenyon College here.

Acceptance rate: 24.69 percent
Location: Haverford, Pennsylvania

Smart Rating: 95.70
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,194
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Haverford College here.

Acceptance rate: 23.91 percent
Location: Middletown, Connecticut

Smart Rating: 93.77
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,928
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Wesleyan University here.

Acceptance rate: 23.89 percent
Location: Richmond, Virginia

Smart Rating: 67.65
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,323
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Virginia Union University here.

Acceptance rate: 23.77 percent
Location: New York, New York

Smart Rating: 94.54
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,573
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Barnard College here.

Acceptance rate: 23.54 percent
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York

Smart Rating: 95.04
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,421
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Vassar College here.

Acceptance rate: 22.77 percent
Location: Northfield, Minnesota

Smart Rating: 95.27
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,057
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Carleton College here.

Acceptance rate: 21.81 percent
Location: Augusta, Georgia

Smart Rating: 66.11
Undergraduate enrollment: 848
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Paine College here.

Acceptance rate: 21.67 percent
Location: Davidson, North Carolina

Smart Rating: 95.54
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,770
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Davidson College here.

Acceptance rate: 20.54 percent
Location: Miami Gardens, Florida

Smart Rating: 67.90
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,478
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (General)

Learn more about Florida Memorial University here.

Acceptance rate: 19.46 percent
Location: Lexington, Virginia

Smart Rating: 96.93
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,890
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Washington and Lee University here.

Acceptance rate: 19.32 percent
Location: Williamstown, Massachusetts

Smart Rating: 97.67
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,072
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Williams College here.

Acceptance rate: 17.9 percent
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Smart Rating: 92.95
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,050
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Colorado College here.

Acceptance rate: 17.17 percent
Location: Middlebury, Vermont

Smart Rating: 95.05
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,526
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Middlebury College here.

Acceptance rate: 17.02 percent
Location: Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

Smart Rating: 95.91
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,542
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Swarthmore College here.

Acceptance rate: 16.33 percent
Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi

Smart Rating: 66.41
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,885
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (General)

Learn more about Mississippi Valley State University here.

Acceptance rate: 15.1 percent
Location: Houston, Texas

Smart Rating: 96.78
Undergraduate enrollment: 3,926
Type of school: Doctoral/Research University (Extensive)

Learn more about Rice University here.

Acceptance rate: 14.91 percent
Location: Brunswick, Maine

Smart Rating: 94.91
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,805
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Bowdoin College here.

Acceptance rate: 14.25 percent
Location: Claremont, California

Smart Rating: 96.33
Undergraduate enrollment: 804
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Harvey Mudd College here.

Acceptance rate: 13.84 percent
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts

Smart Rating: 97.21
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,792
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Amherst College here.

Acceptance rate: 13.02 percent
Location: Claremont, California

Smart Rating: 91.49
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,076
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Pitzer College here.

Acceptance rate: 12.19 percent
Location: Claremont, California

Smart Rating: 97.03
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,650
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Pomona College here.

Acceptance rate: 11.5 percent
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire

Smart Rating: 97.02
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,289
Type of school: Doctoral/Research University (Intensive)

Learn more about Dartmouth College here.

Acceptance rate: 10.77 percent
Location: Claremont, California

Smart Rating: 95.75
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,301
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (Liberal Arts)

Learn more about Claremont McKenna College here.

Acceptance rate: 8.83 percent
Location: Pasadena, California

Smart Rating: 97.53
Undergraduate enrollment: 983
Type of school: Doctoral/Research University (Extensive)

Learn more about California Institute of Technology here.

Acceptance rate: 8.31 percent
Location: Point Lookout, Missouri

Smart Rating: 90.01
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,433
Type of school: Baccalaureate College (General)

Learn more about College of the Ozarks here.

Acceptance rate: 7.88 percent
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Smart Rating: 98.85
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,512
Type of school: Doctoral/Research University (Extensive)

Learn more about Massachusetts Institute of Technology here.