37 Cost-Saving Hidden Gem Small Colleges

Very few “top ranked small colleges” will cost a higher-income family less than $30K. In fact, they are usually closer to $40K-$90K. These “top colleges” are almost all highly selective, where a student with less than a 3.75 does not have a high probability of acceptance. Merit awards are scarce.

GPAs in the 2.5-3.75 range represent a huge proportion of high school students in the U.S For these “more typical students” who might enjoy the personal attention of a small private college, and for parents who would love a price tag that is significantly less than $30K, there are hundreds of small colleges to check out. I have chosen 37 of these to spotlight.

The following list is not a ranking. It is a list of 37 small private colleges I have found in my research that are hidden gems. They do not always show up in the popular rankings, but they are excellent colleges with thousands of successful and happy alumni.

About these colleges:

On average, they all cost most families, for tuition, housing, and food, without loans, after gift assistance, low to mid-20’s (upper $20K’s for higher-income families).

All received solid overall grades from Niche and excellent financial grades from Forbes.

All are small (average enrollment: 1,046).

13 of the 36 offer some full-tuition scholarships (usually through interview competitions).

Acceptance rates range from 47-99% (averaging 71%).

Their average “discount rate” (merit scholarship) is 43%.

4 of these have ABET-accredited engineering programs, 3 have AACSB-accredited business programs, and 10 have CCNE-accredited nursing programs.

More than half of these will admit a wide range of students (2.5 to 4+ GPA).

Most have rolling admission, are test-optional, and no application fee.

Enjoy!

Hendrix College AR

University of the Ozarks AR

University of Advancing Technology AZ

Thomas Aquinas College CA

Trinity Washington University DC

Goldey-Beacom College DE

Agnes Scott College GA

Berry College GA

Young Harris College GA

Saint Ambrose University IA

The College of Idaho ID

Blackburn College IL

Monmouth College IL

Principia College IL

Hanover College IN

McPherson College KS

Centre College KY

University of the Cumberlands KY

Centenary College of Louisiana LA

Cottey College MO

Stephens College MO

Catawba College NC

Salem College NC

Alfred University NY

Franciscan University of Steubenville OH

Oklahoma City University OK

Allegheny College PA

Lycoming College PA

Saint Vincent College PA

Washington & Jefferson College PA

Augustana University SD

Austin College TX

McMurry University TX

Hollins University VA

Randolph College VA

Davis and Elkins College WV

West Virginia Wesleyan College WV