What are the smallest four-year colleges in the United States?

First is The King's University at 251. The 50 colleges listed are ranked on the figure the college reported to the US Department of Education, from the College Scorecard file pulled on 2026-09-17. The last place shown, number 50, is Paine College at 388.

Does this say anything about how good these colleges are?

No. This page orders colleges on one number a college reported to the federal government. It is not a quality ranking, it carries no survey, no reputation score and no weighting, and it says nothing about teaching, outcomes or fit. A cheaper college is not a better college and a more selective one is not either. It also states no admission probability, because none can be derived from public data.

Can I see what essays these colleges ask for?

0 of the 50 colleges in this table have a NudgeEssay requirements page carrying their 2026-27 essay prompts word for word, with word limits, application deadlines and the date each was read on the college's own admissions site. Those college names in the table are links. The rest are in the federal file but not in our prompt dataset, so each of their names links to its federal record instead.

The 50 smallest four-year colleges in the United States

The King's University is the smallest college in this set, at 251 undergraduates. The table below is the 50 smallest of the 1,564 four-year US colleges in the pool, from the College Scorecard file pulled on 2026-09-17. Colleges under 250 undergraduates are excluded from every page in this family, so this is the smallest above that line and not the smallest in the country.

The ordering on this page is the federal figure and not our opinion. No college paid to appear here and nothing is weighted. Every figure on this page is computed from the federal file when the page is built. See the method below for which colleges are counted and what each number is.

Updated 17 September 2026. Written and maintained by NudgeEssay; how facts on this site are sourced and corrected is on the about page.

The 50 colleges

Ranked on undergraduates, from the College Scorecard file pulled on 2026-09-17. 0 of the 50 have a NudgeEssay page carrying their essay prompts word for word, and those names are links. A dash means the federal file carries no figure for that college, not a zero.

The 50 smallest four-year colleges in the United States
#	College	Where	Undergraduates	Admit rate
1	The King's University	Southlake, TXPrivate nonprofit	251	60.6%
2	Cottey College	Nevada, MOPrivate nonprofit	254	69.2%
3	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Shenango	Sharon, PAPublic	256	92.2%
4	Ottawa University-Online	Overland Park, KSPrivate nonprofit	259	81.3%
5	Golden Gate University	San Francisco, CAPrivate nonprofit	259	–
6	Allen College	Waterloo, IAPrivate nonprofit	261	–
7	Randall University	Moore, OKPrivate nonprofit	267	57.9%
8	Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing	Peoria, ILPrivate nonprofit	273	–
9	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo	Arecibo, PRPrivate nonprofit	273	93.8%
10	Faith International University	Tacoma, WAPrivate nonprofit	276	–
11	Ner Israel Rabbinical College	Pikesville, MDPrivate nonprofit	280	65.7%
12	Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science	Los Angeles, CAPrivate nonprofit	282	38.7%
13	Nazarene Bible College	Colorado Springs, COPrivate nonprofit	284	–
14	Arlington Baptist University	Arlington, TXPrivate nonprofit	284	–
15	John Paul the Great Catholic University	Escondido, CAPrivate nonprofit	286	79.6%
16	Albizu University-Miami	Miami, FLPrivate nonprofit	287	75.7%
17	SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University	Brooklyn, NYPublic	293	–
18	Ohio University-Eastern Campus	Saint Clairsville, OHPublic	298	85.0%
19	Medical University of South Carolina	Charleston, SCPublic	303	–
20	New Saint Andrews College	Moscow, IDPrivate nonprofit	305	83.9%
21	Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music	San Juan, PRPublic	307	78.3%
22	Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing	New York, NYPrivate nonprofit	311	–
23	Pacific Oaks College	Pasadena, CAPrivate nonprofit	312	34.4%
24	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Wilkes-Barre	Dallas, PAPublic	313	97.0%
25	University of Fort Lauderdale	Lauderhill, FLPrivate nonprofit	314	–
26	Capitol Technology University	Laurel, MDPrivate nonprofit	315	74.4%
27	The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Houston, TXPublic	334	–
28	Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development	Santa Fe, NMPublic	334	97.5%
29	University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis	Saint Louis, MOPrivate nonprofit	337	89.8%
30	The Chicago School at Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CAPrivate nonprofit	337	46.3%
31	Principia College	Elsah, ILPrivate nonprofit	339	–
32	Naropa University	Boulder, COPrivate nonprofit	339	100.0%
33	Arkansas Baptist College	Little Rock, ARPrivate nonprofit	342	–
34	University of the Southwest	Hobbs, NMPrivate nonprofit	346	–
35	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny	McKeesport, PAPublic	349	96.5%
36	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State DuBois	DuBois, PAPublic	349	97.1%
37	College of the Atlantic	Bar Harbor, MEPrivate nonprofit	353	70.2%
38	Baptist University of Florida	Graceville, FLPrivate nonprofit	360	36.0%
39	St. John's College	Santa Fe, NMPrivate nonprofit	368	53.1%
40	Bellin College	Green Bay, WIPrivate nonprofit	372	97.2%
41	Warner Pacific University	Portland, ORPrivate nonprofit	375	71.1%
42	Southwestern Christian University	Bethany, OKPrivate nonprofit	377	–
43	Mitchell College	New London, CTPrivate nonprofit	377	94.7%
44	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering	Needham, MAPrivate nonprofit	377	25.2%
45	Central Christian College of Kansas	McPherson, KSPrivate nonprofit	380	52.7%
46	Mission University	Springfield, MOPrivate nonprofit	381	–
47	Morris College	Sumter, SCPrivate nonprofit	383	–
48	Trinity College of Jacksonville	Jacksonville, FLPrivate nonprofit	386	53.3%
49	Herzing University-Atlanta	Atlanta, GAPrivate nonprofit	387	93.8%
50	Paine College	Augusta, GAPrivate nonprofit	388	95.4%

Method

Source: the US Dept of Education College Scorecard, Most Recent Institution-Level Data, pulled on 2026-09-17 from the bulk download. Every college in it reports these figures to the US Department of Education itself.

UGDS in the College Scorecard is the enrollment of undergraduate degree-seeking and certificate-seeking students. It counts enrolled students, not applications.

Counted: the federal file carries 1,944 institutions under the filter PREDDEG=3 (bachelor-predominant) AND CURROPER=1 (operating). 1,564 are used on this page family. 144 private for-profit institutions are excluded, and 236 reporting fewer than 250 undergraduates are excluded, because at that size a reported admit rate describes a small specialised applicant pool rather than selectivity. 1,564 met this page’s criteria and the table shows the top 50.

236 colleges reporting fewer than 250 undergraduates are excluded from this family and so from this page.

The ordering on this page is the federal figure and not our opinion. No college paid to appear here and nothing is weighted. No admission probability is stated anywhere on this site, because none can be derived from public data: colleges do not publish admit rates conditional on a score, so any single percentage would be invented. The free chance me tool and college finder sort a list into reaches, targets and likelies from the same federal figures and give no percentage either.

The federal file behind this family carries no earnings column, so no list here says anything about what graduates are paid. Rather than estimate one, this site says what is missing. What one named college costs after aid, income band by income band, is on its own page in the cost family. Our own essay dataset, which is a different source, is described on the supplemental essay data page.

Questions

What are the smallest four-year colleges in the United States?: First is The King's University at 251. The 50 colleges listed are ranked on the figure the college reported to the US Department of Education, from the College Scorecard file pulled on 2026-09-17. The last place shown, number 50, is Paine College at 388.
Where does this ranking come from?: From the US Dept of Education College Scorecard, Most Recent Institution-Level Data, pulled on 2026-09-17. UGDS in the College Scorecard is the enrollment of undergraduate degree-seeking and certificate-seeking students. It counts enrolled students, not applications. The ordering on this page is the federal figure and not our opinion. No college paid to appear here and nothing is weighted.
Which colleges are counted and which are left out?: The federal file carries 1,944 institutions under the filter PREDDEG=3 (bachelor-predominant) AND CURROPER=1 (operating). 1,564 are used here: 144 private for-profit institutions and 236 with fewer than 250 undergraduates are excluded, because at that size a reported admit rate describes a small specialised applicant pool rather than selectivity. 1,564 of those met this page's criteria and the table shows the top 50. 236 colleges reporting fewer than 250 undergraduates are excluded from this family and so from this page.
Does this say anything about how good these colleges are?: No. This page orders colleges on one number a college reported to the federal government. It is not a quality ranking, it carries no survey, no reputation score and no weighting, and it says nothing about teaching, outcomes or fit. A cheaper college is not a better college and a more selective one is not either. It also states no admission probability, because none can be derived from public data.
Can I see what essays these colleges ask for?: 0 of the 50 colleges in this table have a NudgeEssay requirements page carrying their 2026-27 essay prompts word for word, with word limits, application deadlines and the date each was read on the college's own admissions site. Those college names in the table are links. The rest are in the federal file but not in our prompt dataset, so each of their names links to its federal record instead.

The other rankings in this set

All computed from the same federal file, pulled on 2026-09-17, with the same pool and the same exclusions.

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