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COLLEGE RANKINGS
Good US Colleges with High Acceptance Rates
A high acceptance rate is not a red flag — many excellent public universities admit most qualified applicants. This list pairs acceptance rates above 70% with a graduate-earnings floor, making it a practical hunting ground for safety schools that are genuinely worth attending.
Methodology: Acceptance rate above 70%, median 10-year earnings above $50,000, at least 3,000 undergraduates. Sorted by earnings. Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard. Always verify current figures on each school's official site.
| # | College | Location | Acceptance rate | Acceptance | Tuition (out-of-state) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences | Boston, Massachusetts | 85.2% | 85.2% | $40,530 |
| 2 | Chamberlain University-Illinois | Addison, Illinois | 82.6% | 82.6% | $21,536 |
| 3 | Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 88.8% | 88.8% | $53,260 |
| 4 | Drexel University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 79.4% | 79.4% | $62,412 |
| 5 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott | Prescott, Arizona | 76.6% | 76.6% | $44,149 |
| 6 | Quinnipiac University | Hamden, Connecticut | 72.2% | 72.2% | $55,480 |
| 7 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | Rolla, Missouri | 72.5% | 72.5% | $33,248 |
| 8 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | Boston, Massachusetts | 91.2% | 91.2% | $42,884 |
| 9 | Loyola University Maryland | Baltimore, Maryland | 75.5% | 75.5% | $57,150 |
| 10 | San Jose State University | San Jose, California | 84.6% | 84.6% | $21,010 |
| 11 | Gonzaga University | Spokane, Washington | 81.7% | 81.7% | $55,480 |
| 12 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus | Bothell, Washington | 90.6% | 90.6% | $43,155 |
| 13 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus | Tacoma, Washington | 82.5% | 82.5% | $43,404 |
| 14 | University of the Pacific | Stockton, California | 71.3% | 71.3% | $57,080 |
| 15 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 81.3% | 81.3% | $51,170 |
| 16 | Michigan Technological University | Houghton, Michigan | 92.4% | 92.4% | $42,988 |
| 17 | Molloy University | Rockville Centre, New York | 81.7% | 81.7% | $39,790 |
| 18 | Thomas Jefferson University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 81.0% | 81.0% | $47,505 |
| 19 | Butler University | Indianapolis, Indiana | 85.1% | 85.1% | $47,560 |
| 20 | Colorado State University Global | Denver, Colorado | 98.4% | 98.4% | $9,000 |
| 21 | George Mason University | Fairfax, Virginia | 87.5% | 87.5% | $38,688 |
| 22 | Merrimack College | North Andover, Massachusetts | 70.0% | 70.0% | $53,962 |
| 23 | Seattle University | Seattle, Washington | 76.9% | 76.9% | $56,721 |
| 24 | Duquesne University | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 83.6% | 83.6% | $48,986 |
| 25 | University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | 81.2% | 81.2% | $53,983 |
| 26 | Rutgers University-Newark | Newark, New Jersey | 71.4% | 71.4% | $36,762 |
| 27 | Creighton University | Omaha, Nebraska | 79.8% | 79.8% | $48,856 |
| 28 | University of St Thomas | Saint Paul, Minnesota | 85.4% | 85.4% | $54,398 |
| 29 | The Catholic University of America | Washington, Washington, D.C. | 82.8% | 82.8% | $58,378 |
| 30 | University of Delaware | Newark, Delaware | 70.6% | 70.6% | $41,400 |
| 31 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | Pomona, California | 75.2% | 75.2% | $20,380 |
| 32 | Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 81.6% | 81.6% | $53,710 |
| 33 | California State University-East Bay | Hayward, California | 97.4% | 97.4% | $20,183 |
| 34 | University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | 77.8% | 77.8% | $61,398 |
| 35 | University at Buffalo | Buffalo, New York | 74.2% | 74.2% | $31,536 |
| 36 | Saint Louis University | Saint Louis, Missouri | 75.0% | 75.0% | $55,760 |
| 37 | Pace University | New York, New York | 75.9% | 75.9% | $53,290 |
| 38 | Roger Williams University | Bristol, Rhode Island | 87.7% | 87.7% | $44,418 |
| 39 | Seton Hall University | South Orange, New Jersey | 73.3% | 73.3% | $53,170 |
| 40 | New York Institute of Technology | Old Westbury, New York | 81.0% | 81.0% | $46,560 |
| 41 | University of Maryland-Baltimore County | Baltimore, Maryland | 72.4% | 72.4% | $31,275 |
| 42 | James Madison University | Harrisonburg, Virginia | 71.5% | 71.5% | $31,604 |
| 43 | University of Rhode Island | Kingston, Rhode Island | 72.2% | 72.2% | $37,146 |
| 44 | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder, Colorado | 78.1% | 78.1% | $44,918 |
| 45 | St. John's University-New York | Queens, New York | 83.4% | 83.4% | $53,020 |
| 46 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 79.8% | 79.8% | $38,362 |
| 47 | Washington State University | Pullman, Washington | 86.6% | 86.6% | $29,950 |
| 48 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | North Dartmouth, Massachusetts | 90.6% | 90.6% | $32,567 |
| 49 | DePaul University | Chicago, Illinois | 75.9% | 75.9% | $45,999 |
| 50 | University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 77.3% | 77.3% | $29,884 |
| 51 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, California | 96.4% | 96.4% | $20,550 |
| 52 | Monmouth University | West Long Branch, New Jersey | 89.0% | 89.0% | $46,552 |
| 53 | University of California-Riverside | Riverside, California | 76.4% | 76.4% | $49,806 |
| 54 | Ramapo College of New Jersey | Mahwah, New Jersey | 70.6% | 70.6% | $27,708 |
| 55 | Suffolk University | Boston, Massachusetts | 82.3% | 82.3% | $47,550 |
| 56 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, Michigan | 84.8% | 84.8% | $43,842 |
| 57 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, Utah | 86.0% | 86.0% | $30,860 |
| 58 | Bradley University | Peoria, Illinois | 76.8% | 76.8% | $42,160 |
| 59 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | Durham, New Hampshire | 88.2% | 88.2% | $39,852 |
| 60 | Lewis University | Romeoville, Illinois | 71.3% | 71.3% | $39,200 |
| 61 | Sonoma State University | Rohnert Park, California | 93.4% | 93.4% | $21,224 |
| 62 | University of Massachusetts-Boston | Boston, Massachusetts | 83.8% | 83.8% | $38,125 |
| 63 | University of La Verne | La Verne, California | 71.2% | 71.2% | $49,470 |
| 64 | California State University-Sacramento | Sacramento, California | 94.0% | 94.0% | $20,618 |
| 65 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | Lowell, Massachusetts | 83.0% | 83.0% | $36,264 |
| 66 | Xavier University | Cincinnati, Ohio | 86.4% | 86.4% | $50,640 |
| 67 | University of Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | 83.6% | 83.6% | $33,371 |
| 68 | Metropolitan State University | Saint Paul, Minnesota | 98.7% | 98.7% | $9,840 |
| 69 | Towson University | Towson, Maryland | 82.0% | 82.0% | $29,820 |
| 70 | University of California-Merced | Merced, California | 90.5% | 90.5% | $49,823 |
| 71 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Denver, Colorado | 74.7% | 74.7% | $29,391 |
| 72 | California State University-Chico | Chico, California | 92.7% | 92.7% | $21,072 |
| 73 | Oregon State University | Corvallis, Oregon | 77.3% | 77.3% | $38,190 |
| 74 | Point Loma Nazarene University | San Diego, California | 83.7% | 83.7% | $46,250 |
| 75 | St. Joseph's University-New York | Brooklyn, New York | 72.0% | 72.0% | $36,550 |
| 76 | Indiana University-Bloomington | Bloomington, Indiana | 78.2% | 78.2% | $41,891 |
| 77 | Temple University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 80.4% | 80.4% | $38,958 |
| 78 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, North Dakota | 76.9% | 76.9% | $15,570 |
| 79 | Pennsylvania State University-World Campus | University Park, Pennsylvania | 91.1% | 91.1% | $15,356 |
| 80 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg | Middletown, Pennsylvania | 97.6% | 97.6% | $26,958 |
| 81 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College | Erie, Pennsylvania | 96.8% | 96.8% | $26,958 |
| 82 | University of Missouri-Columbia | Columbia, Missouri | 78.5% | 78.5% | $36,056 |
| 83 | Iowa State University | Ames, Iowa | 88.7% | 88.7% | $28,881 |
| 84 | The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, Texas | 79.9% | 79.9% | $29,582 |
| 85 | California State University-Stanislaus | Turlock, California | 98.1% | 98.1% | $20,846 |
| 86 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | Norman, Oklahoma | 76.6% | 76.6% | $27,377 |
| 87 | California State University-Fullerton | Fullerton, California | 90.5% | 90.5% | $20,070 |
| 88 | California State University-San Marcos | San Marcos, California | 95.1% | 95.1% | $20,682 |
| 89 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | Tempe, Arizona | 89.9% | 89.9% | $33,139 |
| 90 | University of Minnesota-Duluth | Duluth, Minnesota | 88.8% | 88.8% | $20,130 |
| 91 | Western Washington University | Bellingham, Washington | 93.3% | 93.3% | $28,707 |
| 92 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, Texas | 72.7% | 72.7% | $24,451 |
| 93 | University of Houston | Houston, Texas | 73.9% | 73.9% | $22,547 |
| 94 | Rider University | Lawrenceville, New Jersey | 78.6% | 78.6% | $41,120 |
| 95 | North Dakota State University-Main Campus | Fargo, North Dakota | 95.0% | 95.0% | $15,764 |
| 96 | California State University-Channel Islands | Camarillo, California | 94.8% | 94.8% | $19,759 |
| 97 | Illinois State University | Normal, Illinois | 88.1% | 88.1% | $28,210 |
| 98 | Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis, Missouri | 95.1% | 95.1% | $27,166 |
| 99 | Stevenson University | Owings Mills, Maryland | 78.9% | 78.9% | $40,560 |
| 100 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, Kansas | 93.5% | 93.5% | $30,432 |
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