The Most Selective Colleges in Rhode Island
Every eligible Rhode Island four-year that reports an admission rate, ranked hardest to get into first and easiest last — not a prestige Top 25. Selectivity here is the published rate, not a magazine composite.
Ranked by acceptance rate · 10 of 11 Rhode Island institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
- 1Brown UniversityProvidence, RI · Private5.2%Compare nearby
- 2Rhode Island School of DesignProvidence, RI · Private13.8%Compare nearby
- 3Providence CollegeProvidence, RI · Private48.7%Compare nearby
- 4Bryant UniversitySmithfield, RI · Private65.6%Compare nearby
- 5Salve Regina UniversityNewport, RI · Private69.9%Compare nearby
- 6New England Institute of TechnologyEast Greenwich, RI · Private72.7%Compare nearby
- 7University of Rhode IslandKingston, RI · Public77.1%Compare nearby
- 8Rhode Island CollegeProvidence, RI · Public81.1%Compare nearby
- 9Johnson & Wales University-ProvidenceProvidence, RI · Private83.7%Compare nearby
- 10Roger Williams UniversityBristol, RI · Private87.8%Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Acceptance rate — sorted lowest to highest
- Source variable
ADM_RATE- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Rhode Island institutions in this universe (11 schools).
- Rhode Island four-year main campuses only. Rank order is published admission rate; on an exact tie, higher SAT average ranks above, and missing SAT does not drop a school. SAT is not shown because it is not the ranked measure. Schools without a published ADM_RATE are omitted rather than estimated.
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded — the same size floor as the national selectivity list — even when they report an admission rate. That cut is not a median-stability adjustment.
- 10 of 11 Rhode Island institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking (report the measure and pass any enrollment floor); the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
- Re-rank with your weightsRe-score with your weights, pre-filtered to RI
- Showdown: Brown University vs Rhode Island School of DesignHigher-or-lower on Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Live leaderboardReshuffle Top 10–50 on one Scorecard measure
- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at Brown UniversityEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Colleges with the Highest SAT Averages
Average SAT score of enrolled students. Reported by fewer than half of institutions as test-optional admissions has spread.
Colleges That Admit Nearly Everyone
Open and near-open admission four-year institutions, ranked by the share of applicants accepted.