Best Massachusetts Colleges
Massachusetts has 45 ranked four-year colleges, part of our national best colleges ranking. Rankings weigh admission scores, graduation rates, and selectivity using statistical data, not editorial picks.
Leading our 2027 rankings is Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, topping our list in Massachusetts. The top rated public university is University of Massachusetts Amherst. Also highly ranked: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Amherst College and Williams College.
Compare tuition, acceptance rates, and enrollment across the colleges below. See how rankings are calculated on our methodology page. Sort by tuition, acceptance rate, or enrollment to find the school that fits you.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Public 4 Year
- Amherst, MA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
UMass Amherst is a large public university known for undergraduate computer science, business, and engineering. Students can cross-register at nearby colleges through the Five College Consortium in the Pioneer Valley.
- SAT Range 1310-1500
- Avg GPA 3.99
- Acceptance Rate 60%
- Net Price $22,948
MCPHS University
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
MCPHS is a private university known for undergraduate pharmacy, nursing, and health sciences. The urban campus sits in Boston's Longwood Medical Area.
- SAT Range 1160-1416
- Avg GPA 3.41
- Acceptance Rate 85%
- Net Price $41,506
Emerson College
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 20 application deadline
Emerson is a private college known for undergraduate journalism, film, and performing arts. The urban campus sits in Boston's Theater District near Boston Common.
- SAT Range 1270-1420
- Avg GPA 3.73
- Acceptance Rate 51%
- Net Price $53,432
Springfield College
- Private 4 Year
- Springfield, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
Springfield College is a private college known for undergraduate physical education, exercise science, and health sciences. Basketball was invented on its campus, and the school keeps a long focus on sport and human services.
- SAT Range 1080-1330
- Avg GPA 3.56
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $30,039
Endicott College
- Private 4 Year
- Beverly, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
Endicott is a private college known for undergraduate hospitality management, nursing, and business. The oceanfront campus sits along the North Shore coastline in Beverly.
- SAT Range 1193-1340
- Avg GPA 3.55
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $41,394
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
- Public 4 Year
- Buzzards Bay, MA
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| 0 reviews
- Apr 15 application deadline
Mass Maritime is a public maritime academy known for undergraduate marine transportation, marine engineering, and maritime business. Most students join a regiment of cadets on a campus along the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay.
- SAT Range 1030-1185
- Avg GPA 3.25
- Acceptance Rate 95%
- Net Price $13,546
Gordon College
- Private 4 Year
- Wenham, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Gordon is a private Christian liberal arts college known for undergraduate music, education, and psychology. Most students live on a wooded residential campus in the small North Shore town of Wenham.
- SAT Range 1130-1355
- Avg GPA 3.58
- Acceptance Rate 69%
- Net Price $25,299
College of Our Lady of the Elms
- Private 4 Year
- Chicopee, MA
-
3.5 | 4 reviews
Elms College is a private Catholic college known for undergraduate nursing and education. The small campus is in Chicopee in western Massachusetts.
- SAT Range 1150-1320
- Avg GPA 3.42
- Acceptance Rate 85%
- Net Price $19,870
University of Massachusetts Lowell
- Public 4 Year
- Lowell, MA
-
3.5 | 2 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
UMass Lowell is a public university known for undergraduate engineering, nursing, and sciences. The urban campus sits along the Merrimack River in Lowell.
- SAT Range 1180-1370
- Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 83%
- Net Price $16,530
Western New England University
- Private 4 Year
- Springfield, MA
-
| 0 reviews
Western New England is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, business, and pharmacy. The residential campus sits in Springfield in western Massachusetts.
- SAT Range 1090-1300
- Avg GPA 3.49
- Acceptance Rate 83%
- Net Price $27,056
Wentworth Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
Wentworth is a private institute of technology known for undergraduate engineering, architecture, and design. The urban campus sits in Boston's Fenway neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1110-1320
- Avg GPA 3.39
- Acceptance Rate 91%
- Net Price $35,604
Emmanuel College
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
Emmanuel is a private Catholic college known for undergraduate nursing and the sciences. The Fenway campus shares classes and facilities with neighboring schools through a consortium.
- SAT Range 1170-1340
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 76%
- Net Price $31,121
University of Massachusetts Boston
- Public 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
UMass Boston is a large public university known for undergraduate nursing, business, and environmental science. The urban waterfront campus sits on Columbia Point along Boston Harbor.
- SAT Range 1070-1290
- Avg GPA 3.35
- Acceptance Rate 84%
- Net Price $17,768
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- Public 4 Year
- North Dartmouth, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
UMass Dartmouth is a public university known for undergraduate engineering, nursing, and visual design. The suburban campus features distinctive modernist architecture in southeastern Massachusetts.
- SAT Range 1050-1270
- Avg GPA 3.37
- Acceptance Rate 91%
- Net Price $21,094
Bay Path University
- Private 4 Year
- Longmeadow, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
Bay Path is a private university known for educating undergraduate women in business, health sciences, and cybersecurity. The residential campus sits in suburban Longmeadow near Springfield.
- SAT Range 1010-1210
- Avg GPA 3.4
- Acceptance Rate 85%
- Net Price $15,463
Curry College
- Private 4 Year
- Milton, MA
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1.8 | 4 reviews
- Apr 1 application deadline
Curry is a private college known for undergraduate nursing, criminal justice, and communication. The suburban campus sits in Milton just south of Boston.
- SAT Range 1050-1230
- Avg GPA 3.01
- Acceptance Rate 88%
- Net Price $29,917
Suffolk University
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
Suffolk is a private university known for undergraduate business, government, and communications. The compact urban campus sits on Beacon Hill near Boston's government center.
- SAT Range 1090-1300
- Avg GPA 3.33
- Acceptance Rate 82%
- Net Price $33,832
Framingham State University
- Public 4 Year
- Framingham, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
Framingham State is a public university known for undergraduate teacher education, nutrition, and fashion design. The suburban campus sits in the MetroWest area west of Boston.
- SAT Range 1100-1280
- Avg GPA 3.07
- Acceptance Rate 84%
- Net Price $16,114