The Best Midwestern Small Colleges
These are the top ranked small, public and private, four-year colleges in the Midwest as ranked by CollegeSimply. These schools all have total enrollment under 3,000. Small colleges allow students a more intimate and personalized experience where it's more likely you will get to know your professors. Leading the list for 2027 is Carleton College. Learn how the Best Small Colleges rankings are calculated on our ranking methodology page.
Carleton College
- Private 4 Year
- Northfield, MN
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,128 total enrollment
Carleton is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate natural sciences, economics, and political science. Most students live on the residential campus in the small college town of Northfield.
- SAT Range 1450-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 20%
- Net Price $28,047
Grinnell College
- Private 4 Year
- Grinnell, IA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,788 total enrollment
Grinnell is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for an open curriculum and undergraduate work in the sciences and social sciences. Most undergrads live on the residential campus in the small town of Grinnell.
- SAT Range 1410-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.89
- Acceptance Rate 15%
- Net Price $34,363
Kenyon College
- Private 4 Year
- Gambier, OH
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,249 total enrollment
Kenyon is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate English and creative writing. The rural campus occupies much of the small village of Gambier.
- SAT Range 1358-1503
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.84
- Acceptance Rate 31%
- Net Price $46,859
Denison University
- Private 4 Year
- Granville, OH
-
3.7 | 3 reviews
- 2,394 total enrollment
Denison is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, the sciences, and theatre. Most students live on the hillside residential campus in the village of Granville.
- SAT Range 1320-1490
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.76
- Acceptance Rate 17%
- Net Price $43,721
Macalester College
- Private 4 Year
- Saint Paul, MN
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,138 total enrollment
Macalester is a selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate international studies, political science, and economics. The urban campus sits in Saint Paul within the Twin Cities.
- SAT Range 1350-1510
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.81
- Acceptance Rate 29%
- Net Price $40,225
DePauw University
- Private 4 Year
- Greencastle, IN
-
3.5 | 2 reviews
- 1,917 total enrollment
DePauw is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music and communication. Most students join the large Greek system on its college-town campus in Greencastle.
- SAT Range 1200-1410
- Avg GPA 3.97
- Acceptance Rate 57%
- Net Price $31,411
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Terre Haute, IN
-
0.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,334 total enrollment
Rose-Hulman is a private college known for undergraduate engineering, science, and mathematics. Most students live on the residential campus in Terre Haute.
- SAT Range 1320-1500
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $45,406
Wheaton College
- Private 4 Year
- Wheaton, IL
-
4.0 | 3 reviews
- 2,874 total enrollment
Wheaton is a private evangelical Christian liberal arts college known for undergraduate biblical studies, theology, and the sciences. The residential campus sits in a western suburb of Chicago.
- SAT Range 1260-1470
- Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 87%
- Net Price $31,356
Oberlin College
- Private 4 Year
- Oberlin, OH
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- 2,909 total enrollment
Oberlin is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music through its Conservatory and for the arts. Most students live on a residential campus in the small college town of Oberlin.
- SAT Range 1360-1520
- Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 34%
- Net Price $51,624
Illinois Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Bloomington, IL
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,582 total enrollment
Illinois Wesleyan is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate music, nursing, and the sciences. Most students live on a residential campus in Bloomington in central Illinois.
- SAT Range 1120-1340
- Avg GPA 3.86
- Acceptance Rate 39%
- Net Price $28,644
Saint Mary's College
- Private 4 Year
- Notre Dame, IN
-
3.8 | 5 reviews
- 1,601 total enrollment
Saint Mary's is a private Catholic women's college known for undergraduate nursing, education, and the liberal arts. The campus adjoins the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana.
- SAT Range 1130-1325
- Avg GPA 3.83
- Acceptance Rate 76%
- Net Price $27,865
The College of Wooster
- Private 4 Year
- Wooster, OH
-
2.3 | 3 reviews
- 1,738 total enrollment
The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college known for a required senior Independent Study thesis. Most undergrads live on a residential campus in a small Ohio college town.
- SAT Range 1220-1460
- Avg GPA 3.76
- Acceptance Rate 60%
- Net Price $28,004
Lawrence University
- Private 4 Year
- Appleton, WI
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,417 total enrollment
Lawrence is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music through its Conservatory of Music. The residential campus sits along the Fox River in Appleton.
- SAT Range 1200-1420
- Avg GPA 3.52
- Acceptance Rate 64%
- Net Price $27,161
John Carroll University
- Private 4 Year
- University Heights, OH
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,864 total enrollment
John Carroll is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate business and the sciences. The suburban campus sits in University Heights near Cleveland.
- SAT Range 1180-1330
- Avg GPA 3.66
- Acceptance Rate 81%
- Net Price $30,030
Milwaukee School of Engineering
- Private 4 Year
- Milwaukee, WI
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,953 total enrollment
MSOE is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and nursing. The urban campus is located in downtown Milwaukee.
- SAT Range 1160-1405
- Avg GPA 3.65
- Acceptance Rate 59%
- Net Price $25,669
Kalamazoo College
- Private 4 Year
- Kalamazoo, MI
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,166 total enrollment
Kalamazoo is a private liberal arts college known for the K-Plan curriculum, extensive undergraduate study abroad, and a required senior individualized project. Most undergrads complete an extended off-campus study experience before graduation.
- SAT Range 1170-1380
- Avg GPA 3.73
- Acceptance Rate 75%
- Net Price $26,956
Kettering University
- Private 4 Year
- Flint, MI
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,466 total enrollment
Kettering is a private university known for undergraduate mechanical, electrical, and industrial engineering. The campus sits in Flint, a mid-sized Michigan city long tied to the auto industry.
- SAT Range 1160-1330
- Avg GPA 3.77
- Acceptance Rate 79%
- Net Price $35,609
Luther College
- Private 4 Year
- Decorah, IA
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,384 total enrollment
Luther is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music and the sciences. The residential campus sits among the bluffs of Decorah in northeast Iowa.
- SAT Range 1078-1406
- Avg GPA 3.65
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $24,511