15 Best Liberal Arts Colleges In The US 2024

Liberal arts colleges have long been a destination for students seeking a well-rounded education that prepares them for success in various fields. With a focus on interdisciplinary studies and critical thinking, liberal arts colleges offer a unique approach to higher education. In this article, we’ll be exploring the best liberal arts colleges in the United States, from small, intimate campuses to larger schools

Choosing the perfect liberal arts college might be difficult because there are more than 200 to select from. We’ve put up a list of the best 15 liberal arts colleges to save you time and focus your search. Whether you’re a prospective student looking for the perfect fit or simply curious about the best liberal arts colleges, this article is for you.

What Is A Liberal Arts College?
Why Should I Attend A Liberal Arts College In The US?
15 Best Liberal Arts Colleges In The US
What Are The Benefits Of Attending A Liberal Arts College
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions On Best Liberal Arts Colleges
References
We Also Recommend

What Is A Liberal Arts College?

A liberal arts college is a higher education facility focusing on undergraduates and frequently emphasizes the humanities. Liberal arts colleges typically do not provide graduate programs, in contrast to research universities. Thus, you may anticipate smaller classrooms and more individualized instruction at one of the best liberal arts colleges. Additionally, as an undergraduate, you can have greater options for research.

Liberal arts programs give students access to courses in the arts, humanities, and social sciences regardless of their major. A liberal arts education prepares students for the creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and communication skills required for the next steps in their academic or professional careers.

Why Should I Attend A Liberal Arts College In The US?

So what makes a liberal arts college the best choice for you? First of all, liberal arts colleges teach students to view issues widely. They provide you with the adaptability you will need to navigate many decades of professional life in rapidly changing landscapes.

Students are typically exposed to science, mathematics, social sciences, and humanities as part of a liberal arts education. This broad understanding of the world will better prepare you to deal with complexity, diversity, and change.

Moreso, a liberal arts education will also assist you in developing a strong sense of social responsibility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills such as communication, analytical, and problem-solving abilities, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings.

According to research carried out by The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) 93 percent of employers surveyed agree that candidates’ displayed capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complicated problems is more important than their undergraduate major. Four out of five employers agreed that all students should gain a broad understanding of the liberal arts and sciences. Many jobs do not require a specific college degree and instead accept a wide range of degrees or simply require any college degree.

15 Best Liberal Arts Colleges In The US

Here is a list of the 15 best Liberal arts colleges in the U.S:

Williams College
Pomona College
Bowdoin College
Amherst College
Wellesley College
Claremont McKenna College
Swarthmore College
Middlebury College
Washington and Lee University
Haverford College
Wesleyan University
Carleton College
Hamilton College
Davidson College
Vassar College

1. Williams College

Location: Williamstown, MA
Acceptance Rate: 13%
Median 50% SAT/ACT: 1482/33
Undergrad Enrollment: 2,000

Williams College, a small, private liberal arts institution holds a top spot in the list of the best liberal arts colleges. For students seeking to enroll in one of the most well-known and well-acclaimed liberal arts institutions in the United States, the school provides a unique and inexpensive chance. The institution employs need-blind admissions and will satisfy all substantiated financial needs without using loans.

85% of a student’s overall financial assistance package is often covered by a Williams grant, which has no repayment requirements. In addition, Williams is the only university in the nation that provides all students seeking financial help with free course materials and textbooks. Students who attend schools in Western Massachusetts are surrounded by nature and have quick access to hiking and other outdoor pursuits.

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2. Pomona College

Location: Claremont, College
Acceptance Rate: 8%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1410-1550/32-35
Undergrad Enrollment: 1,500

Pomona College is another highly regarded college on this list of the best liberal arts colleges. The college has the benefits of a small liberal arts college and the facilities of a large university because it is a member of the Claremont Consortium, a consortium of seven colleges that share resources within a 546-acre area.

Pomona College employs a need-blind admissions policy that fully satisfies the proven financial need of every admitted student. Since 2008, packaged loans have not been included in any of Pomona’s financial aid awards, which are now exclusively made up of work-study, grants, and scholarships.

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3. Bowdoin College

Location: Brunswick, ME
Acceptance Rate: 10%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1430-1540/32-35
Undergrad Enrollment: 1,800

One of the nation’s oldest colleges, Bowdoin College, was established in 1794. It is 25 years older than the state of Maine, where it is situated. The success of Bowdoin University graduates in a wide range of fields—including literary giants like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, tech industry leaders like Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, and businessman/restaurateur and co-founder of Subway Peter Buck—is a testament to the liberal arts education provided by the university.

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4. Amherst College

Location: Amherst, MA
Acceptance Rate: 13%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1420-1560/30-34
Undergrad Enrollment: 1,800

Since the early 1970s, Amherst College has been known for its open curriculum. The college only has one required class, a first-year seminar, and no core curriculum or prerequisites for distribution. Students must complete the major-specific courses to receive a degree. Still, they are free to choose any other classes from among the 850 offered by the college, allowing them to focus on their intellectual interests.

As a part of the Five College Consortium, students can enroll in any of the thousands of courses offered at Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith College, and UMass Amherst if the course they’re interested in is offered by someone other than Amherst.

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5. Wellesley College

Location: Wellesley, MA
Acceptance Rate: 20%
Median SAT/ACT: 1445/32
Undergrad Enrollment: 2,500

As the fifth-best liberal arts college, Wellesley College emphasizes the shared experience of intellectual and personal growth. Wellesley, an all-girls college, focuses mainly on being an academic beacon for women worldwide.

Compared to the universities we’ve talked about so far, Wellesley accepts 20% more candidates. However, despite the average GPA of approved students being between 3.89 and 4.0, they still have strict standards for their candidates. The range of typical SAT scores is 1350 to 1520.

Wellesley’s annual tuition of $61,584 is comparable to that of most prestigious liberal arts colleges.

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6. Claremont McKenna College

Location: Claremont, CA
Acceptance Rate: 9%
Median SAT/ACT: 1420/33
Undergrad Enrollment: 1,300

Claremont McKenna College, one of the best liberal arts colleges, is a member of the Claremont Consortium of seven schools that includes the following schools:

Harvey Mudd College
Pitzer College
Pomona College
Scripps College
Claremont Graduate University
Keck Graduate Institute

The Claremont Consortium’s member schools share amenities like varsity athletics, a health center, campus security, dining halls, libraries, and clubs. 99% of Claremont McKenna College students enrolled in 2,200 courses at another institution in the consortium through cross-registration.

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7. Swarthmore College

Location: Swarthmore, PA
Acceptance Rate: 9%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1395-1540/31-34
Undergrad Enrollment: 1,500

Swarthmore has an undergraduate engineering program, unlike many of the best liberal arts universities. It allows students to integrate the study of traditional liberal arts themes with STEM knowledge; combining liberal arts with engineering results in well-rounded pupils who can collaborate communicate and solve technical problems.

Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford Colleges have formed the Tri-College Consortium to increase students’ social and intellectual opportunities. The University of Pennsylvania also allows for cross-registration.

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8. Middlebury College

Location: Middlebury, VT
Acceptance Rate: 17%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1360-1510/31-34
Undergrad Enrollment: 2,500

Middlebury College’s esteemed language programs contribute to its ranking as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the US. The college provides courses in these areas:

Arabic
Chinese
French
German
Hebrew
Italian
Japanese
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish

All levels of students can take language classes at Middlebury, which also offers an immersive learning environment for its language learners through the “Language Pledge,” a commitment to speak only the language being studied for the duration of the program.

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9. Washington and Lee University

Location: Lexington, VA
Acceptance Rate: 21%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1370-1480/32-34
Undergrad Enrollment: 1,800

Washington & Lee University ranks ninth on this list of top liberal arts colleges in the U.S. One of the country’s oldest universities is Washington and Lee, which was established in 1749. The honor code of the college is one of its defining traditions. Each generation of students defines what conduct they believe to be dishonorable without a teacher or board monitoring, as opposed to having such behavior legislated.

There is only one consequence for breaking the honor code because Washington and Lee’s students believe in the power of their community inside and outside the classroom: expulsion from the institution.

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10. Haverford College

Location: Haverford, PA
Acceptance Rate: 18.2%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1370-1510/32-35
Undergrad Enrollment: 1,300

Haverford is still an institution that is governed by values of equality and peace, having been founded by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1833. The honor code, which is student-run and essential to the college’s academic and extracurricular life, is one crucial component.

Haverford is a Tri-College Consortium member, just like Swarthmore, and provides a wide range of programs. The core of these programs consists of research-based courses and seminars. The arboretum campus of the college is renowned for its natural beauty.

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11. Wesleyan University

Location: Middletown, CT
Acceptance Rate: 20.9%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1340-1510/31-34
Undergrad Enrollment: 3,000

With Wesleyan’s open curriculum, students can pursue their preferred programs and take academic chances. Additionally, students can benefit from more than 5,000 internship opportunities, a vast selection of study-abroad alternatives, and a variety of academic curricula.

Wesleyan’s approach to undergraduate education is based on a set of values. Their guidelines outline the characteristics the school thinks every graduate should possess.

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12. Carleton College

Location: Northfield, MN
Acceptance Rate: 20%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1330-1530/30-34
Undergrad Enrollment: 2,000

After graduating from Carleton College, students continue to build on the fundamental abilities they learned during their liberal arts education. 18% of Carleton graduates enroll in graduate programs immediately after leaving the university, and about 57% do so within five years of receiving their undergraduate degree.

Carleton isn’t just about learning; it’s also one of the best liberal arts colleges for having fun, with clubs like the school’s quidditch team (the “Motley Muggles”) and customs like the “silent dance party,” which is conducted before final examinations.

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13. Hamilton College

Location: Clinton, NY
Acceptance Rate: 21%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1450-1530/32-34
Undergrad Enrollment: 2,000

Hamilton College, which bears its name in honor of one of our founding fathers and the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, has established a reputation as an institution that fosters opportunity. It did away with merit scholarships in 2008 and transferred the money to financial aid; currently, it touts need-blind admissions and will cover all admitted students’ substantiated financial needs.

The college offers an open curriculum, allowing students to select the classes that cognitively interest them. The only other courses students need to pass are three writing-intensive classes, one of which they must finish in their first year, aside from the ones required for their majors.

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14. Davidson College

Location: Davidson, NC
Acceptance Rate: Undisclosed
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: Undisclosed
Undergrad Enrollment: 1,800

Since the college was established in 1837, it has been governed by an Honor Code that combines steadfast principles with a vibrant community. The Davidson experience includes 74 majors, minors, and interdisciplinary programs in addition to the arts and undergraduate research. This occurs on a site that combines modern amenities and technology with 100-year-old architecture.

Today, the college promises to provide 100% of the calculated financial needs of all accepted students without loans, thanks to the Davidson Trust.

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15. Vassar College

Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Acceptance Rate: 25%
Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1400-1520/32-34
Undergrad Enrollment: 2,400

Vassar College is tied for fifteenth on our list of the best liberal arts colleges. It was one of the Seven Sister institutions, a collection of previously all-female universities in the Northeast. When Vassar opened its doors to men in 1969, they made up 45% of the student body.

A few requirements outside those linked to their major are placed on students under Vassar’s open curriculum. They must also complete a freshman seminar, a one-semester quantitative course in one of the natural sciences, psychology, economics, or mathematics, and lastly demonstrate their competency in a foreign language.

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What Are The Benefits Of Attending A Liberal Arts College

Bachelor’s degrees in the arts and sciences are available at liberal arts colleges, with majors ranging from studio art and music to mathematics and chemistry.

Higher education institutions that offer a liberal arts education are frequently smaller campuses with fewer students and a more intimate type of education than a large public university, Ivy League school, or state college campus. These educational institutions typically have strong educational philosophies and are known for providing more student-centered instruction, smaller class sizes, more seminars rather than lecture classes, and strong connections with graduate schools.

Here are the key benefits of attending a liberal arts college:

1. Balanced Education

A liberal arts education gives students a broad overview of the humanities. Liberal arts college students begin their academic careers by taking courses in the arts, social sciences, communications, natural sciences, and mathematics. While the latter portion of the program is more focused on a person’s specific degree major, the program as a whole is designed to provide students with a balanced and well-rounded learning experience.

Public universities, on the other hand, typically offer degree programs that focus on providing a comprehensive academic review of a single subject or industry. They may require first-year students to take specific prerequisite courses, as well as basic writing and math. However, unless the classes are required for a degree, there is usually less emphasis on the arts and social sciences.

2. Small class size

Unlike universities, most liberal arts colleges have smaller class sizes and a lower student-to-instructor ratio. First and second-year university students are frequently enrolled in large lecture classes with hundreds of students. On a liberal arts campus, similar courses will have 25 to 45 students, whereas seminars may have 10 or 12 participants. Collegiality is also encouraged on the liberal arts campus, and instructors are frequently invited to informal events and discussions.

3. They majorly focus on undergraduate programs

Undergraduate students can choose from a variety of degree programs at liberal arts colleges. While some liberal arts colleges may offer graduate programs, the majority of liberal arts colleges are primarily concerned with providing undergraduate students with a well-rounded education in the arts and humanities.

4. Better student-to-teacher ratio

A student-teacher ratio compares the number of students to the number of teachers in an average classroom. The majority of liberal arts colleges are private institutions with smaller class sizes than public universities. Class sizes at some liberal arts colleges range from 10 to 30 students. These colleges, unlike public universities, are unlikely to offer large seminar or lecture classes with hundreds of students in attendance.

Students are more likely to get to know their professors on an individual level in smaller classes and in the absence of large lecture halls. Their professors are more likely to know their students’ names and, as a result, to be invested in their education.

Furthermore, this increased level of connectivity allows students to receive academic advice, career advice, or personal mentorship from their professors. It can also assist people in obtaining internships or letters of recommendation in the future.

5. Liberal arts colleges expose students to leadership opportunities

Students at liberal arts colleges have numerous opportunities for community engagement, including clubs, activities, and athletic teams. There is a greater chance of gaining a leadership position within a club or team when there are fewer students. Furthermore, the close-knit learning community and the opportunity to develop close academic relationships with professors may help students find internships or other leadership positions outside of school.

6. Degree flexibility

Liberal arts colleges place a strong emphasis on developing students’ critical thinking and writing skills across multiple subject areas. While university programs frequently concentrate on a single career path, a liberal arts education is frequently applicable to multiple career paths. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, graduates of liberal arts colleges are frequently employed in design, communication, marketing, education, and social work.

Conclusion

Your critical thinking abilities will improve thanks to the significant experience that liberal arts degrees provide. Other opportunities are available to you if you pursue a liberal arts education.

Now is the time to start thinking about what YOU want from a college experience because, as we’ve seen, there are many possibilities when picking the best liberal arts colleges to suit your interests.

Frequently Asked Questions On Best Liberal Arts Colleges

What is the Number One Liberal Arts College in America?

The best liberal arts college in the US is Williams College.

Is a Liberal Arts College Worth it?

Yes! Students who attend liberal arts colleges can explore a variety of topics and get a broad but in-depth education that can be useful in any career!

What Can You Do With a Liberal Arts Degree?

Degrees in the liberal arts are practically beneficial in any job! It is designed to provide you with the adaptability you will need to navigate many decades of professional life in rapidly changing landscapes. It is now more important than ever.

Is it Hard to Get into Top-Ranking Liberal Arts Colleges?

High-ranking institutions have admission percentages that range from 9% to 24%, making it challenging to be accepted!

References

quadeducationgroup.com – Best Liberal Arts Colleges (2024)
collegevine.com – 20 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the U.S.

15 Best Liberal Arts Colleges In The US 2024 | Ranking

Table of contents

What Is A Liberal Arts College?

Why Should I Attend A Liberal Arts College In The US?