Rhode Island Colleges with low acceptance rates

Colleges with the Lowest Acceptance Rate in Rhode Island for 2025

These are the most selective public and private four-year colleges in Rhode Island. The list is ranked by acceptance rate, lowest to highest and limited to schools which reject at least half of all applicants. Leading the list is Brown University which sent acceptance letters to only 5% of the 51,316 students who applied and rejected 95%.

Not all schools on the most selective list are overly academically challenging. Some schools with less rigorous test and high school GPA requirements may receive a large numbers of qualified applicants and the school does not have space to admit them all.

If you're looking for challenging colleges, explore rankings of Rhode Island colleges with the highest SAT scores, highest ACT scores and highest GPA's.
Rhode Island Low Acceptance % Public Private 4 year

3 results

Brown University
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Providence, RI

Brown University

Private 4 Year

2 reviews

5% Acceptance Rate

#11 Best Colleges in America

  • 11,516enrollment
  • $26,608net price
  • 1500-1570SAT range
  • 34-35ACT range
  • 3.94Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 5

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Rhode Island School of Design
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R
Providence, RI

Rhode Island School of Design

Private 4 Year

0 reviews

14% Acceptance Rate

#2 Best Colleges in Rhode Island

  • 2,540enrollment
  • $42,106net price
  • 1370-1540SAT range
  • 30-33ACT range
  • 3.71Estimated Avg GPA

Applications Due Feb 1

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Providence College
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Providence, RI

Providence College

Private 4 Year

2 reviews

49% Acceptance Rate

#3 Best Colleges in Rhode Island

  • 4,635enrollment
  • $46,645net price
  • 1250-1400SAT range
  • 28-32ACT range
  • 3.47Avg GPA

Applications Due Jan 15

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