Top Liberal Arts Colleges

Liberal arts colleges are small, undergraduate-focused schools where teaching comes first and class sizes stay low. Many are as selective as famous research universities. These are the nationally recognized liberal arts colleges in our database, ranked by acceptance rate.

Schools

Median acceptance

21%

Most selective

Swarthmore College

7% acceptance

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44 schools

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Your chances at these colleges

Estimated chance of admission for three typical students, from the same model as the calculator. Unweighted GPA; 2, 4 and 7 AP courses respectively; Regular Decision; no legacy, athletic or first-generation hook.

Which of the Top Liberal Arts Colleges can I get into with a 3.7 GPA and a 1300 SAT?

By CollegeCalcAI's model, a student with a 3.7 unweighted GPA and a 1300 SAT has a Likely or Safety estimate (45% or higher) at 15 of the 44 colleges here, including Oberlin College, Mount Holyoke College and Connecticut College. 8 more are Target (25 to 44%), such as Smith College and Skidmore College. The other 21 are Reach. Estimates assume Regular Decision and no hook; courses, activities and essays move them.

Estimated admission chance for three student profiles at each college: 3.3 GPA, 1150 SAT; 3.7 GPA, 1300 SAT; 4.0 GPA, 1500 SAT
College	3.3 GPA1150 SAT	3.7 GPA1300 SAT	4.0 GPA1500 SAT
Swarthmore Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Pomona Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Bowdoin Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	14%Reach
Colby Collegeadmits 7%	7%Reach	9%Reach	15%Reach
Williams Collegeadmits 8%	7%Reach	10%Reach	16%Reach
Amherst Collegeadmits 9%	8%Reach	11%Reach	18%Reach
Claremont McKenna Collegeadmits 10%	9%Reach	12%Reach	20%Reach
Middlebury Collegeadmits 11%	9%Reach	13%Reach	23%Reach
Haverford Collegeadmits 12%	10%Reach	14%Reach	24%Reach
Davidson Collegeadmits 13%	10%Reach	16%Reach	27%Target
Bates Collegeadmits 13%	10%Reach	16%Reach	27%Target
Wellesley Collegeadmits 14%	11%Reach	16%Reach	28%Target
Hamilton Collegeadmits 14%	11%Reach	16%Reach	28%Target
Colgate Universityadmits 14%	11%Reach	17%Reach	30%Target
Washington and Lee Universityadmits 14%	11%Reach	17%Reach	29%Target
Grinnell Collegeadmits 15%	11%Reach	18%Reach	32%Target
Wesleyan Universityadmits 16%	12%Reach	19%Reach	32%Target
Denison Universityadmits 17%	12%Reach	23%Reach	39%Target
College of the Holy Crossadmits 18%	13%Reach	24%Reach	42%Target
Vassar Collegeadmits 19%	13%Reach	22%Reach	39%Target
Carleton Collegeadmits 20%	14%Reach	22%Reach	41%Target
Smith Collegeadmits 21%	14%Reach	26%Target	47%Likely
Skidmore Collegeadmits 21%	14%Reach	29%Target	49%Likely
Macalester Collegeadmits 29%	18%Reach	38%Target	67%Likely
Bryn Mawr Collegeadmits 29%	18%Reach	38%Target	67%Likely

Show all 44 colleges

Estimated admission chance for three student profiles at each college: 3.3 GPA, 1150 SAT; 3.7 GPA, 1300 SAT; 4.0 GPA, 1500 SAT (continued)
Bucknell Universityadmits 29%	19%Reach	41%Target	70%Safety
Trinity Collegeadmits 29%	19%Reach	41%Target	68%Likely
Kenyon Collegeadmits 31%	20%Reach	43%Target	72%Safety
Lafayette Collegeadmits 31%	20%Reach	44%Target	73%Safety
Oberlin Collegeadmits 34%	22%Reach	47%Likely	77%Safety
Mount Holyoke Collegeadmits 36%	25%Target	55%Likely	82%Safety
Connecticut Collegeadmits 37%	24%Reach	54%Likely	83%Safety
Whitman Collegeadmits 38%	24%Reach	57%Likely	84%Safety
Gettysburg Collegeadmits 39%	30%Target	64%Likely	87%Safety
Dickinson Collegeadmits 42%	30%Target	67%Likely	90%Safety
Furman Universityadmits 43%	34%Target	71%Safety	91%Safety
Occidental Collegeadmits 44%	31%Target	66%Likely	91%Safety
Union Collegeadmits 44%	31%Target	69%Likely	92%Safety
St. Olaf Collegeadmits 48%	38%Target	77%Safety	95%Safety
Rhodes Collegeadmits 50%	42%Target	82%Safety	96%Safety
St. Lawrence Universityadmits 54%	66%Likely	93%Safety	97%Safety
DePauw Universityadmits 57%	62%Likely	93%Safety	98%Safety
Sewanee - University of the Southadmits 57%	73%Safety	96%Safety	98%Safety
Wheaton College (MA)admits 68%	88%Safety	98%Safety	98%Safety

Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities or compare your own list with the free admissions API.

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CollegeCalcAI. "Top Liberal Arts Colleges." 2026. https://collegecalcai.com/data/top-liberal-arts-colleges

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21%median acceptance rate, top liberal arts colleges (44 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI

<a href="https://collegecalcai.com/data/top-liberal-arts-colleges?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=statcard" style="display:inline-block;padding:16px 20px;border:1px solid #E5E9F0;border-radius:14px;text-decoration:none;font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;background:#fff">21%median acceptance rate, top liberal arts colleges (44 schools)Source: CollegeCalcAI</a>

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Acceptance rates and admitted test ranges reflect publicly reported data (U.S. Department of Education / NCES IPEDS / Common Data Sets) and are rounded. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.