Most Selective Massachusetts Colleges
Massachusetts has 21 four-year colleges that accept 50% or fewer of applicants, ranked from most to least selective.
Harvard University is the hardest to get into in Massachusetts, accepting just 4% of 54,008 applicants. Also highly selective: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and Williams College.
Selectivity does not always equal academic difficulty. Some schools admit a small share of applicants because demand exceeds capacity, not because admission standards are extreme. If you need safety schools, see our highest acceptance rate colleges in Massachusetts. For academically demanding options, explore colleges with the highest SAT, highest ACT, and highest GPA averages.
Harvard University
- Private 4 Year
- Cambridge, MA
-
4.8 | 4 reviews
- 4% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Harvard is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate economics, government, and the sciences. Most upperclass students live in residential houses that organize dining and social life.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Net Price $17,525
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Cambridge, MA
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
MIT is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences. The compact urban campus sits along the Charles River in Cambridge.
- SAT Range 1520-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.96
- Net Price $20,996
Northeastern University
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
4.7 | 6 reviews
- 5% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Northeastern is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and health sciences. The urban campus sits in Boston's Fenway neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1440-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Net Price $34,207
Williams College
- Private 4 Year
- Williamstown, MA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 8% acceptance rate
- Jan 10 application deadline
Williams is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics and Oxford-style tutorials. Most students live on the rural campus in the Berkshires town of Williamstown.
- SAT Range 1490-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.94
- Net Price $15,894
Amherst College
- Private 4 Year
- Amherst, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 9% acceptance rate
- Jan 2 application deadline
Amherst is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, English, and political science. Students follow an open curriculum, and the campus sits in a classic New England college town.
- SAT Range 1490-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Net Price $19,049
Boston University
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
3.4 | 11 reviews
- 11% acceptance rate
- Jan 4 application deadline
Boston University is a private university known for undergraduate communications, business, and international relations. The urban campus stretches along Commonwealth Avenue beside the Charles River.
- SAT Range 1420-1530
- Avg GPA 3.79
- Net Price $24,420
Tufts University
- Private 4 Year
- Medford, MA
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- 11% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Tufts is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate international relations and biology. Most undergrads live on a residential hilltop campus in the Boston suburbs of Medford and Somerville.
- SAT Range 1470-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Net Price $32,367
Wellesley College
- Private 4 Year
- Wellesley, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 14% acceptance rate
- Jan 8 application deadline
Wellesley is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, political science, and the sciences. Most students live on the residential campus in a Boston suburb about twelve miles west of the city.
- SAT Range 1460-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Net Price $22,174
Boston College
- Private 4 Year
- Chestnut Hill, MA
-
5.0 | 5 reviews
- 16% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Boston College is a highly selective private Jesuit university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and the liberal arts. The residential campus sits in suburban Chestnut Hill just outside Boston.
- SAT Range 1440-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Net Price $32,519
Babson College
- Private 4 Year
- Wellesley, MA
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
- 17% acceptance rate
- Jan 3 application deadline
Babson is a private college known for undergraduate entrepreneurship and business. The suburban campus is in Wellesley near Boston.
- SAT Range 1390-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.79
- Net Price $32,019
College of the Holy Cross
- Private 4 Year
- Worcester, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 18% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Holy Cross is a highly selective Jesuit liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, political science, and history. The hilltop campus overlooks the city of Worcester.
- SAT Range 1240-1410
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $36,014
Smith College
- Private 4 Year
- Northampton, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 21% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Smith is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering, government, and the arts. Students live on a historic campus in Northampton and can cross-register through the Five College Consortium.
- SAT Range 1420-1540
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Net Price $27,305
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
- Private 4 Year
- Needham, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 25% acceptance rate
- Jan 1 application deadline
Olin is a highly selective private college devoted to undergraduate engineering, with a curriculum built around project-based design. The small residential campus is in suburban Needham near Boston.
- SAT Range 1493-1558
- Avg GPA 3.9
- Net Price $43,184
Mount Holyoke College
- Private 4 Year
- South Hadley, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 36% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Mount Holyoke is a private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, international relations, and economics. The South Hadley campus is part of the Five College Consortium with Amherst, Smith, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst.
- SAT Range 1380-1530
- Avg GPA 3.87
- Net Price $32,526
Brandeis University
- Private 4 Year
- Waltham, MA
-
4.0 | 1 reviews
- 40% acceptance rate
Brandeis is a private university known for undergraduate neuroscience, biology, and the social sciences. The suburban campus in Waltham sits just west of Boston.
- SAT Range 1390-1520
- Avg GPA 3.84
- Net Price $43,550
Clark University
- Private 4 Year
- Worcester, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 40% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Clark is a private university known for undergraduate psychology and geography. The compact urban campus sits in Worcester, west of Boston.
- SAT Range 1288-1460
- Avg GPA 3.69
- Net Price $33,865
The New England Conservatory of Music
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 41% acceptance rate
- Dec 1 application deadline
NEC is a highly selective private music conservatory known for undergraduate performance, composition, and jazz. The urban campus sits in Boston's Fenway neighborhood near major concert halls.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $50,367
Berklee College of Music
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 44% acceptance rate
- Jan 15 application deadline
Berklee is a private music college known for undergraduate contemporary performance, jazz, and music production. The urban campus is located in Boston's Fenway neighborhood.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA NA
- Net Price $49,797