Most selective colleges in New England
50 colleges ranked by acceptance rate
These 50 most selective colleges in New England, ranked by acceptance rate, run from 3% at Harvard University to 70% at Salve Regina University. 4 are public and 46 are private.
| # | College | Type | Acceptance | Avg SAT | Net price / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA | Private | 3% | 1,553 | $16,816 |
| 2 | Yale University New Haven, CT | Private | 5% | 1,534 | $27,818 |
| 3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA | Private | 5% | 1,553 | $19,813 |
| 4 | Brown University Providence, RI | Private | 5% | 1,546 | $26,572 |
| 5 | Northeastern University Boston, MA | Private | 6% | 1,505 | $32,116 |
| 6 | Dartmouth College Hanover, NH | Private | 6% | 1,533 | $28,619 |
| 7 | Colby College Waterville, ME | Private | 7% | 1,500 | $23,939 |
| 8 | Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME | Private | 8% | 1,514 | $20,786 |
| 9 | Amherst College Amherst, MA | Private | 10% | 1,494 | $18,246 |
| 10 | Williams College Williamstown, MA | Private | 10% | 1,527 | $14,852 |
| 11 | Tufts University Medford, MA | Private | 10% | 1,513 | $35,435 |
| 12 | Middlebury College Middlebury, VT | Private | 10% | 1,500 | $25,934 |
| 13 | Boston University Boston, MA | Private | 11% | 1,473 | $26,996 |
| 14 | Bates College Lewiston, ME | Private | 13% | 1,446 | $30,703 |
| 15 | Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI | Private | 14% | 1,480 | $46,253 |
| 16 | Wellesley College Wellesley, MA | Private | 14% | 1,513 | $25,008 |
| 17 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA | Private | 16% | 1,501 | $39,866 |
| 18 | Wesleyan University Middletown, CT | Private | 17% | 1,513 | $27,888 |
| 19 | Goddard College Plainfield, VT | Private | 20% | — | $30,152 |
| 20 | Smith College Northampton, MA | Private | 20% | 1,480 | $26,181 |
| 21 | Babson College Wellesley, MA | Private | 20% | 1,435 | $38,876 |
| 22 | College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA | Private | 21% | 1,354 | $36,868 |
| 23 | Franklin W Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA | Private | 22% | 1,540 | $20,575 |
| 24 | Trinity College Hartford, CT | Private | 34% | 1,396 | $35,009 |
| 25 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA | Private | 35% | 1,473 | $33,885 |
| 26 | Connecticut College New London, CT | Private | 38% | 1,412 | $33,998 |
| 27 | Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA | Private | 38% | 1,422 | $29,562 |
| 28 | Clark University Worcester, MA | Private | 42% | 1,339 | $27,711 |
| 29 | The New England Conservatory of Music Boston, MA | Private | 43% | — | $42,556 |
| 30 | Fairfield University Fairfield, CT | Private | 45% | 1,323 | $46,274 |
| 31 | Emerson College Boston, MA | Private | 47% | 1,359 | $46,766 |
| 32 | Bennington College Bennington, VT | Private | 48% | 1,358 | $31,918 |
| 33 | Bentley University Waltham, MA | Private | 48% | 1,340 | $38,787 |
| 34 | Providence College Providence, RI | Private | 49% | 1,342 | $45,538 |
| 35 | Berklee College of Music Boston, MA | Private | 50% | — | $50,404 |
| 36 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT | Public | 54% | 1,338 | $22,886 |
| 37 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA | Public | 58% | 1,393 | $23,691 |
| 38 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA | Private | 59% | — | $43,273 |
| 39 | Gordon College Wenham, MA | Private | 59% | 1,268 | $24,817 |
| 40 | Eastern Nazarene College Quincy, MA | Private | 59% | 1,035 | $17,733 |
| 41 | University of Vermont Burlington, VT | Public | 60% | 1,357 | $20,860 |
| 42 | Maine Maritime Academy Castine, ME | Public | 61% | 1,185 | $21,185 |
| 43 | University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT | Private | 64% | 985 | $24,786 |
| 44 | Albertus Magnus College New Haven, CT | Private | 64% | — | $32,681 |
| 45 | College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor, ME | Private | 65% | — | $24,028 |
| 46 | Bryant University Smithfield, RI | Private | 66% | 1,263 | $40,846 |
| 47 | Simmons University Boston, MA | Private | 66% | 1,332 | $27,313 |
| 48 | Champlain College Burlington, VT | Private | 67% | 1,262 | $35,000 |
| 49 | Sacred Heart University Fairfield, CT | Private | 68% | — | $45,459 |
| 50 | Salve Regina University Newport, RI | Private | 70% | 1,236 | $35,682 |