In the United States, there are a total of 20,341,598 students enrolled in higher education institutions. Of these, 14,559,068 attend public colleges and universities, while 5,782,530 are enrolled in private institutions. This comprehensive overview highlights the scale and diversity of college enrollment in the United States, helping prospective students and families understand their options among the largest educational institutions.
Explore Largest Private Colleges with the Most Students, where 56,832 students are enrolled at New York University, making it the largest institution in terms of enrollment.
Following closely, University of Southern California ranks second with 46,566 students, while Boston University holds the third spot at 37,737. These institutions set the benchmark for large-scale education.
The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $58,856 and graduate tuition & fees is $46,732 for the academic year 2024-2025.
Among these top-tier Largest Private Colleges with the Most Students, the average acceptance rate is 32.84% and the average SAT score is 1,433, reflecting a competitive admissions environment and strong academic performance.
Our analysis includes colleges with at least 5,000 total enrollments and excludes online universities to provide a balanced overview. For a comprehensive list of online universities, visit the largest private online colleges.
| School Name | Total Population | Undergraduate | Graduate | Men | Women | Online Enrollment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - | New York University New York, NYPrivate, 4-year | 56,832 503 | 29,060 (51.13%) | 27,772 (48.87%) | 23,777 (41.84%) | 33,055 (58.16%) | 3,493 (6.15%) |
| 2 - | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CAPrivate, 4-year | 46,566 581 | 20,630 (44.30%) | 25,936 (55.70%) | 21,836 (46.89%) | 24,730 (53.11%) | 6,077 (13.05%) |
| 3 - | Boston University Boston, MAPrivate, 4-year | 37,737 1,113 | 18,805 (49.83%) | 18,932 (50.17%) | 15,963 (42.30%) | 21,774 (57.70%) | 5,423 (14.37%) |
| 4 1 | Brigham Young University Provo, UTPrivate, 4-year | 35,873 799 | 32,952 (91.86%) | 2,921 (8.14%) | 17,517 (48.83%) | 18,356 (51.17%) | 898 (2.50%) |
| 5 1 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NYPrivate, 4-year | 35,173 106 | 9,164 (26.05%) | 26,009 (73.95%) | 15,887 (45.17%) | 19,286 (54.83%) | 1,499 (4.26%) |
| 6 - | Northeastern University Boston, MAPrivate, 4-year | 32,553 1,394 | 17,432 (53.55%) | 15,121 (46.45%) | 15,644 (48.06%) | 16,909 (51.94%) | 1,730 (5.31%) |
| 7 - | Harvard University Cambridge, MAPrivate, 4-year | 30,259 127 | 8,844 (29.23%) | 21,415 (70.77%) | 13,812 (45.65%) | 16,447 (54.35%) | 7,584 (25.06%) |
| 8 - | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MDPrivate, 4-year | 30,210 152 | 6,356 (21.04%) | 23,854 (78.96%) | 14,243 (47.15%) | 15,967 (52.85%) | 12,409 (41.08%) |
| 9 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PAPrivate, 4-year | 29,109 | 11,478 (39.43%) | 17,631 (60.57%) | 12,877 (44.24%) | 16,232 (55.76%) | 3,249 (11.16%) |
| 10 | Cornell University Ithaca, NYPrivate, 4-year | 26,793 | 16,128 (60.19%) | 10,665 (39.81%) | 12,696 (47.39%) | 14,097 (52.61%) | 527 (1.97%) |
| 11 | George Washington University Washington, DCPrivate, 4-year | 25,374 | 11,677 (46.02%) | 13,697 (53.98%) | 9,655 (38.05%) | 15,719 (61.95%) | 3,989 (15.72%) |
| 12 | Northwestern University Evanston, ILPrivate, 4-year | 23,856 | 9,399 (39.40%) | 14,457 (60.60%) | 10,696 (44.84%) | 13,160 (55.16%) | 781 (3.27%) |
| 13 | Syracuse University Syracuse, NYPrivate, 4-year | 22,589 | 15,957 (70.64%) | 6,632 (29.36%) | 9,981 (44.19%) | 12,608 (55.81%) | 2,298 (10.17%) |
| 14 | DePaul University Chicago, ILPrivate, 4-year | 21,210 | 14,188 (66.89%) | 7,022 (33.11%) | 9,464 (44.62%) | 11,746 (55.38%) | 2,424 (11.43%) |
| 15 | Drexel University Philadelphia, PAPrivate, 4-year | 21,153 | 13,309 (62.92%) | 7,844 (37.08%) | 9,738 (46.04%) | 11,415 (53.96%) | 3,757 (17.76%) |
| 16 | Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FLPrivate, 4-year | 20,910 | 7,311 (34.96%) | 13,599 (65.04%) | 5,954 (28.47%) | 14,956 (71.53%) | 5,509 (26.35%) |
| 17 | Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FLPrivate, 4-year | 20,888 | 18,071 (86.51%) | 2,817 (13.49%) | 6,490 (31.07%) | 14,398 (68.93%) | 9,910 (47.44%) |
| 18 | Baylor University Waco, TXPrivate, 4-year | 20,626 | 14,915 (72.31%) | 5,711 (27.69%) | 8,103 (39.29%) | 12,523 (60.71%) | 3,066 (14.86%) |
| 19 | Georgetown University Washington, DCPrivate, 4-year | 20,031 | 7,833 (39.10%) | 12,198 (60.90%) | 8,833 (44.10%) | 11,198 (55.90%) | 2,625 (13.10%) |
| 20 | University of Miami Coral Gables, FLPrivate, 4-year | 19,852 | 13,250 (66.74%) | 6,602 (33.26%) | 8,859 (44.63%) | 10,993 (55.37%) | 1,024 (5.16%) |
| 21 | St. John's University-New York Queens, NYPrivate, 4-year | 19,389 | 15,640 (80.66%) | 3,749 (19.34%) | 8,275 (42.68%) | 11,114 (57.32%) | 981 (5.06%) |
| 22 | Stanford University Stanford, CAPrivate, 4-year | 18,625 | 7,904 (42.44%) | 10,721 (57.56%) | 9,667 (51.90%) | 8,958 (48.10%) | 350 (1.88%) |
| 23 | University of Chicago Chicago, ILPrivate, 4-year | 18,566 | 7,598 (40.92%) | 10,968 (59.08%) | 10,087 (54.33%) | 8,479 (45.67%) | 102 (0.55%) |
| 24 | Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, GAPrivate, 4-year | 18,550 | 15,552 (83.84%) | 2,998 (16.16%) | 5,501 (29.65%) | 13,049 (70.35%) | 1,798 (9.69%) |
| 25 | Duke University Durham, NCPrivate, 4-year | 17,499 | 6,523 (37.28%) | 10,976 (62.72%) | 7,778 (44.45%) | 9,721 (55.55%) | 1,312 (7.50%) |
| Average | 26,809 | 13,999 (52.22%) | 12,810 (47.78%) | 11,733 (43.77%) | 15,076 (56.23%) | 3,313 (12.36%) |