Not every public university has 30,000 students. Hundreds of public colleges enroll fewer than 10,000 undergraduates, from public liberal arts colleges like SUNY Geneseo and St. Mary's College of Maryland to technical universities like Colorado School of Mines. For state residents, they often cost far less than a private college of similar size.
Why consider a small public college?
A small public college can offer some of what draws students to small private colleges, such as smaller classes, professors who know you and a close campus community, at a public price. For residents, published tuition at the colleges below is often under $15,000 a year, compared with $60,000 or more at many small private colleges. You may pay less if receiving grants or scholarships at either.
Public liberal arts colleges
These are the U.S. members of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC), public colleges built around a broad, undergraduate-focused liberal arts education.
| College | State | Undergrads | Acceptance rate | In-state tuition | Out-of-state tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Montevallo | AL | 2,151 | 53.8% | $13,948 | $26,968 |
| Sonoma State University | CA | 5,166 | 93.4% | $8,624 | $21,224 |
| Fort Lewis College | CO | 3,079 | 77.3% | $9,958 | $21,526 |
| Eastern Connecticut State University | CT | 3,418 | 83.0% | $13,928 | $17,428 |
| Georgia College & State University | GA | 5,947 | 78.2% | $9,186 | $29,512 |
| Indiana University-Kokomo | IN | 2,352 | 86.5% | $8,424 | $22,811 |
| St. Mary's College of Maryland | MD | 1,603 | 68.6% | $15,298 | $31,374 |
| Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts | MA | 713 | 89.7% | $12,436 | $21,381 |
| University of Minnesota-Morris | MN | 936 | 74.9% | $14,526 | $16,710 |
| Mississippi University for Women | MS | 1,605 | 90.3% | $8,492 | $8,492 |
| Truman State University | MO | 2,513 | 83.8% | $9,838 | $18,566 |
| Keene State College | NH | 2,699 | 90.3% | $14,784 | $26,840 |
| Ramapo College of New Jersey | NJ | 4,898 | 70.6% | $16,777 | $27,708 |
| SUNY Geneseo | NY | 3,869 | 66.5% | $8,999 | $19,569 |
| University of North Carolina at Asheville | NC | 2,910 | 91.9% | $7,501 | $24,849 |
| University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma | OK | 941 | 65.8% | $9,000 | $20,190 |
| Western Oregon University | OR | 3,103 | 98.1% | $11,879 | $32,534 |
| Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania | PA | 9,210 | 93.1% | $11,046 | $22,870 |
| Northern State University | SD | 1,273 | 93.0% | $8,845 | $11,947 |
| Vermont State University | VT | 3,590 | 81.7% | $11,952 | $22,296 |
| UVA Wise | VA | 1,101 | 28.5% | $11,780 | $28,010 |
| University of Mary Washington | VA | 3,566 | 79.8% | $14,640 | $27,560 |
| The Evergreen State College | WA | 2,160 | 96.4% | $9,264 | $31,905 |
| University of Wisconsin-Superior | WI | 1,807 | 93.0% | $8,812 | $16,726 |
Sources: IPEDS (undergraduate enrollment; admissions for the fall 2024 entering class); College Scorecard (published tuition and fees before aid, about 2023–24). You may pay less if receiving grants or scholarships. Membership from COPLAC; the University of South Carolina Aiken, also a member, isn't in our data.
Other small public colleges students apply to in large numbers
Public colleges with 1,000 to 9,999 undergraduates that each received at least 10,000 applications for fall 2024, by state. The military service academies are left out because they don't charge tuition.
| College | State | Undergrads | Acceptance rate | In-state tuition | Out-of-state tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama A&M University | AL | 6,124 | 58.0% | $10,024 | $18,634 |
| Jacksonville State University | AL | 7,036 | 77.7% | $12,894 | $23,334 |
| University of South Alabama | AL | 8,879 | 71.0% | $10,116 | $19,092 |
| Arkansas State University | AR | 9,110 | 82.3% | $8,090 | $14,522 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | CA | 5,612 | 98.2% | $8,250 | $20,850 |
| California State University-Bakersfield | CA | 8,577 | 93.8% | $8,090 | $20,690 |
| California State University-East Bay | CA | 9,809 | 97.4% | $7,583 | $20,183 |
| California State University-Monterey Bay | CA | 6,819 | 97.4% | $7,779 | $20,379 |
| UC Merced | CA | 8,372 | 90.5% | $15,623 | $49,823 |
| Colorado Mesa University | CO | 8,143 | 82.0% | $9,927 | $25,124 |
| Colorado School of Mines | CO | 6,155 | 60.7% | $21,914 | $45,824 |
| University of Colorado Colorado Springs | CO | 8,697 | 97.4% | $10,149 | $24,336 |
| University of Northern Colorado | CO | 5,598 | 85.9% | $12,416 | $27,266 |
| Florida A&M University | FL | 7,582 | 20.6% | $5,785 | $17,725 |
| University of West Florida | FL | 9,330 | 58.2% | $6,360 | $19,241 |
| University of Idaho | ID | 7,747 | 75.5% | $9,084 | $28,320 |
| Chicago State University | IL | 1,384 | 43.3% | $12,754 | $12,754 |
| Eastern Illinois University | IL | 4,188 | 65.3% | $13,679 | $16,217 |
| Southern Illinois University Carbondale | IL | 8,494 | 86.9% | $13,334 | $13,334 |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | IL | 8,750 | 97.5% | $12,922 | $12,922 |
| Indiana State University | IN | 6,188 | 80.8% | $10,258 | $22,322 |
| Murray State University | KY | 6,688 | 85.7% | $9,900 | $19,836 |
| Grambling State University | LA | 4,164 | 44.9% | $7,683 | $16,706 |
| Southern University and A&M College | LA | 5,519 | 35.1% | $9,922 | $17,272 |
| University of Maine | ME | 8,496 | 96.6% | $13,326 | $36,756 |
| Morgan State University | MD | 9,019 | 82.2% | $8,229 | $19,124 |
| University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | MA | 5,221 | 90.6% | $15,612 | $32,567 |
| Ferris State University | MI | 8,106 | 91.4% | $14,778 | $14,778 |
| Michigan Technological University | MI | 5,955 | 92.4% | $19,123 | $42,988 |
| Northern Michigan University | MI | 6,556 | 84.0% | $14,277 | $19,773 |
| Saginaw Valley State University | MI | 5,989 | 72.1% | $12,930 | $30,450 |
| University of Michigan-Dearborn | MI | 5,952 | 55.6% | $15,640 | $32,896 |
| University of Michigan-Flint | MI | 4,411 | 70.5% | $14,704 | $28,320 |
| Jackson State University | MS | 4,600 | 93.2% | $8,965 | $11,965 |
| Southeast Missouri State University | MO | 6,373 | 73.5% | $9,903 | $9,903 |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | NJ | 9,019 | 65.1% | $19,974 | $37,664 |
| Rutgers University-Camden | NJ | 3,753 | 66.3% | $17,764 | $37,276 |
| Rutgers University-Newark | NJ | 7,709 | 71.4% | $17,250 | $36,762 |
| Stockton University | NJ | 7,537 | 88.9% | $16,266 | $24,524 |
| The College of New Jersey | NJ | 7,105 | 62.3% | $19,632 | $25,752 |
| CUNY Medgar Evers College | NY | 3,233 | 86.1% | $7,352 | $15,302 |
| CUNY York College | NY | 4,345 | 64.1% | $7,358 | $15,308 |
| College of Staten Island CUNY | NY | 9,657 | 92.3% | $7,490 | $15,440 |
| Farmingdale State College | NY | 9,552 | 63.3% | $8,626 | $18,536 |
| SUNY Brockport | NY | 5,784 | 70.7% | $8,752 | $15,822 |
| SUNY Buffalo State University | NY | 5,097 | 73.0% | $8,533 | $19,653 |
| SUNY Oneonta | NY | 4,643 | 69.6% | $8,831 | $19,781 |
| State University of New York at Cortland | NY | 5,901 | 59.8% | $8,874 | $18,784 |
| State University of New York at New Paltz | NY | 6,086 | 61.6% | $8,572 | $18,822 |
| State University of New York at Oswego | NY | 5,473 | 80.5% | $8,825 | $18,735 |
| North Carolina Central University | NC | 6,081 | 87.0% | $6,699 | $19,735 |
| Cleveland State University | OH | 8,969 | 91.3% | $12,988 | $18,510 |
| University of Akron | OH | 9,052 | 59.7% | $13,135 | $20,815 |
| University of Toledo | OH | 9,770 | 92.0% | $12,744 | $22,104 |
| South Carolina State University | SC | 2,934 | 82.6% | $11,060 | $21,750 |
| Tennessee Technological University | TN | 8,698 | 76.1% | $11,376 | $15,576 |
| East Texas A&M University | TX | 9,912 | 92.2% | $10,026 | $22,326 |
| Prairie View A&M University | TX | 8,877 | 79.3% | $11,299 | $26,874 |
| Stephen F Austin State University | TX | 8,728 | 94.0% | $11,128 | $23,426 |
| Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | TX | 8,034 | 88.6% | $9,748 | $20,794 |
| Southern Utah University | UT | 9,289 | 81.8% | $6,962 | $21,192 |
| Norfolk State University | VA | 5,392 | 87.8% | $10,180 | $21,682 |
| Radford University | VA | 6,038 | 89.5% | $12,548 | $25,633 |
| Virginia State University | VA | 5,074 | 88.6% | $10,043 | $22,650 |
| William & Mary | VA | 7,055 | 34.1% | $25,914 | $51,038 |
| University of Wisconsin-Whitewater | WI | 9,405 | 85.7% | $8,616 | $18,716 |
Sources: IPEDS (undergraduate enrollment; admissions for the fall 2024 entering class); College Scorecard (published tuition and fees before aid, about 2023–24). You may pay less if receiving grants or scholarships.
Kinds of small public colleges
- Public liberal arts colleges, like those in COPLAC: broad curricula, small classes, mostly undergraduates.
- Smaller public universities that draw students from across their state and beyond, like William & Mary and The College of New Jersey.
- Technical and engineering universities, like Colorado School of Mines, Michigan Technological University, Missouri University of Science and Technology and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
- Historically Black colleges and universities, many of them public, including Florida A&M University, Morgan State University, North Carolina Central University and Jackson State University.
- Regional campuses of large university systems, like Rutgers University–Camden and Rutgers University–Newark, which offer a smaller campus with the larger system's degree.
Is a small public college right for you?
You may thrive at a small public college if you want to be known in your classes, prefer a campus where you recognize people, and care about cost. A larger university may suit you better if you want a very wide choice of majors, major college athletics or a bigger social scene. Many students don't know which they prefer until they visit both.
Lens shows whether you lean toward smaller or larger colleges, using seven research-backed assessments. Start with Lens →
FAQ
What counts as a small college? There's no official line. On Lens, "smaller" means fewer than 10,000 undergraduates. Many liberal arts colleges have fewer than 3,000.
Are there public liberal arts colleges? Yes. The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges has 25 U.S. members, including SUNY Geneseo, St. Mary's College of Maryland, UNC Asheville, Truman State University and the University of Minnesota Morris.
Do small public colleges charge out-of-state students more? Yes, like all public colleges, but often by less. For the colleges in the second table, the typical gap between in-state and out-of-state tuition is about $11,000 a year, compared with about $20,500 at the 100 most-applied-to public universities. Regional programs such as WUE can lower it further for some students.
How much do small public colleges charge state residents? For the colleges in the second table, the typical (median) published in-state tuition is about $10,100 a year, before any aid.