The Best Eastern Small Colleges
These are the top ranked small, public and private, four-year colleges in the East as ranked by CollegeSimply. These schools all have total enrollment under 3,000. Small colleges allow students a more intimate and personalized experience where it's more likely you will get to know your professors. Leading the list for 2027 is Amherst College. Learn how the Best Small Colleges rankings are calculated on our ranking methodology page.
Mount Holyoke College
- Private 4 Year
- South Hadley, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,275 total enrollment
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
- Acceptance Rate 36%
- Net Price $32,526
Bryn Mawr College
- Private 4 Year
- Bryn Mawr, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,679 total enrollment
Bryn Mawr is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, archaeology, and classics. The suburban Main Line campus outside Philadelphia shares courses and resources with nearby Haverford and Swarthmore.
- SAT Range 1280-1510
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
- Acceptance Rate 29%
- Net Price $33,221
Union College
- Private 4 Year
- Schenectady, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,065 total enrollment
Union is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering alongside the sciences and social sciences. Most students belong to Minerva Houses that organize dining and campus social life.
- SAT Range 1310-1480
- Avg GPA 3.5
- Acceptance Rate 44%
- Net Price $42,137
Rhode Island School of Design
- Private 4 Year
- Providence, RI
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,520 total enrollment
RISD is a highly selective private art and design college known for undergraduate fine arts, industrial design, and architecture. The urban Providence campus borders Brown University and offers a dual-degree program with it.
- SAT Range 1396-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.71
- Acceptance Rate 19%
- Net Price $43,492
Connecticut College
- Private 4 Year
- New London, CT
-
4.8 | 4 reviews
- 1,990 total enrollment
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and international relations. Much of the campus sits within a large arboretum overlooking the Thames River.
- SAT Range 1350-1500
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 37%
- Net Price $45,700
Muhlenberg College
- Private 4 Year
- Allentown, PA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,788 total enrollment
Muhlenberg is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate theater, biology, and media and communication. The residential campus sits in Allentown in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
- SAT Range 1250-1410
- Avg GPA 3.44
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $34,739
Sarah Lawrence College
- Private 4 Year
- Bronxville, NY
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 1,798 total enrollment
Sarah Lawrence is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate creative writing, the arts, and conference-based individualized study. The suburban Bronxville campus sits just north of New York City.
- SAT Range 1240-1430
- Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $43,629
St Lawrence University
- Private 4 Year
- Canton, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,991 total enrollment
St. Lawrence is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and international affairs. The residential campus sits in a small college town in northern New York near the Adirondacks.
- SAT Range 1255-1420
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 54%
- Net Price $33,216
Hobart William Smith Colleges
- Private 4 Year
- Geneva, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,841 total enrollment
Hobart and William Smith is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and political science. The residential campus overlooks Seneca Lake in New York's Finger Lakes region.
- SAT Range 1190-1385
- Avg GPA 3.55
- Acceptance Rate 64%
- Net Price $34,170
Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
- Private 4 Year
- Norton, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,785 total enrollment
Wheaton is a private liberal arts college known for its interdisciplinary Connections curriculum and frequent dual majors. Most undergrads live on the residential campus in the small town of Norton southeast of Boston.
- SAT Range 1220-1390
- Avg GPA 3.48
- Acceptance Rate 68%
- Net Price $30,701
Nazareth University
- Private 4 Year
- Rochester, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,401 total enrollment
Nazareth is a private university known for undergraduate education, nursing, and music. The suburban campus sits in Pittsford just outside Rochester.
- SAT Range 1070-1320
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 75%
- Net Price $30,785
Bard College
- Private 4 Year
- Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,911 total enrollment
Bard is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate arts, music, and literature. The campus overlooks the Hudson River in New York's Hudson Valley.
- SAT Range 1270-1450
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 52%
- Net Price $29,320
Allegheny College
- Private 4 Year
- Meadville, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,171 total enrollment
Allegheny is a private liberal arts college known for requiring a major and minor in different fields and a senior comprehensive project. The historic campus sits in the small college town of Meadville in northwestern Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1173-1358
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Acceptance Rate 55%
- Net Price $26,420
Moravian University
- Private 4 Year
- Bethlehem, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,745 total enrollment
Moravian is a private university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and the liberal arts. The historic campus sits in downtown Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley.
- SAT Range 1070-1285
- Avg GPA 3.55
- Acceptance Rate 54%
- Net Price $31,743
Springfield College
- Private 4 Year
- Springfield, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,599 total enrollment
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
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
- Public 4 Year
- Syracuse, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,757 total enrollment
ESF is a specialized public college known for undergraduate environmental science, forestry, and landscape architecture. The campus adjoins Syracuse University in Syracuse.
- SAT Range 1130-1300
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 63%
- Net Price $19,814
Saint Anselm College
- Private 4 Year
- Manchester, NH
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,111 total enrollment
Saint Anselm is a private Catholic liberal arts college known for undergraduate politics and nursing. The Benedictine campus in Manchester has long hosted New Hampshire presidential primary debates.
- SAT Range 1110-1278
- Avg GPA 3.39
- Acceptance Rate 78%
- Net Price $35,551
Ursinus College
- Private 4 Year
- Collegeville, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 1,502 total enrollment
Ursinus is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology, neuroscience, and a required first-year common curriculum. The residential campus sits in suburban Collegeville northwest of Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1200-1385
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Acceptance Rate 92%
- Net Price $32,158