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.
Amherst College
- Private 4 Year
- Amherst, MA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,914 total enrollment
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
- Acceptance Rate 9%
- Net Price $19,049
Williams College
- Private 4 Year
- Williamstown, MA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 2,164 total enrollment
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
- Acceptance Rate 8%
- Net Price $15,894
Wellesley College
- Private 4 Year
- Wellesley, MA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,407 total enrollment
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
- Acceptance Rate 14%
- Net Price $22,174
Middlebury College
- Private 4 Year
- Middlebury, VT
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,803 total enrollment
Middlebury is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate language study, environmental studies, and international affairs. The hillside campus sits in a small college town in Vermont's Champlain Valley.
- SAT Range 1445-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.89
- Acceptance Rate 11%
- Net Price $26,233
Bowdoin College
- Private 4 Year
- Brunswick, ME
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- 1,881 total enrollment
Bowdoin is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate government, environmental studies, and the sciences. The historic campus sits in the coastal college town of Brunswick.
- SAT Range 1470-1550
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 7%
- Net Price $22,228
Hamilton College
- Private 4 Year
- Clinton, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,031 total enrollment
Hamilton is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate writing, economics, and government. The hilltop campus sits in the small village of Clinton in upstate New York.
- SAT Range 1450-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.87
- Acceptance Rate 14%
- Net Price $28,719
Colby College
- Private 4 Year
- Waterville, ME
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,412 total enrollment
Colby is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies, economics, and government. The residential campus sits on Mayflower Hill above Waterville.
- SAT Range 1460-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Acceptance Rate 7%
- Net Price $16,219
Swarthmore College
- Private 4 Year
- Swarthmore, PA
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- 1,623 total enrollment
Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The suburban campus is a designated arboretum just outside Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1490-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 7%
- Net Price $22,469
Bates College
- Private 4 Year
- Lewiston, ME
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| 0 reviews
- 1,760 total enrollment
Bates is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate political science, economics, and biology. Most students live on the residential campus in the small city of Lewiston.
- SAT Range 1420-1530
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 13%
- Net Price $24,723
Haverford College
- Private 4 Year
- Haverford, PA
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5.0 | 7 reviews
- 1,431 total enrollment
Haverford is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, economics, and political science. Students live under a student-run honor code on a suburban campus near Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1460-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 12%
- Net Price $26,535
Vassar College
- Private 4 Year
- Poughkeepsie, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,462 total enrollment
Vassar is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate English, art history, and the sciences. Most students live on the historic residential campus in New York's Hudson Valley.
- SAT Range 1450-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Acceptance Rate 19%
- Net Price $29,981
Trinity College
- Private 4 Year
- Hartford, CT
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5.0 | 6 reviews
- 2,238 total enrollment
Trinity is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering, political science, and economics. The historic campus occupies a compact urban site in Hartford.
- SAT Range 1298-1470
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.8
- Acceptance Rate 29%
- Net Price $36,071
Skidmore College
- Private 4 Year
- Saratoga Springs, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,704 total enrollment
Skidmore is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate studio art, performing arts, and business. The residential campus sits in the historic spa town of Saratoga Springs.
- SAT Range 1340-1480
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 21%
- Net Price $31,187
Franklin and Marshall College
- Private 4 Year
- Lancaster, PA
-
3.8 | 6 reviews
- 1,808 total enrollment
Franklin and Marshall is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate government and the natural sciences. Most students live on a residential campus in the city of Lancaster.
- SAT Range 1310-1463
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 28%
- Net Price $43,987
Smith College
- Private 4 Year
- Northampton, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- 2,857 total enrollment
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
- Acceptance Rate 21%
- Net Price $27,305
Lafayette College
- Private 4 Year
- Easton, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,775 total enrollment
Lafayette is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering alongside the liberal arts. The residential hillside campus in Easton overlooks the Delaware and Lehigh rivers.
- SAT Range 1350-1500
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Acceptance Rate 31%
- Net Price $38,442
Dickinson College
- Private 4 Year
- Carlisle, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- 2,314 total enrollment
Dickinson is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate international studies, foreign languages, and environmental science. The historic campus sits in the small college town of Carlisle in central Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1310-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 42%
- Net Price $38,483
Gettysburg College
- Private 4 Year
- Gettysburg, PA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- 2,812 total enrollment
Gettysburg is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate history and political science. The campus borders Gettysburg National Military Park and the Civil War battlefield.
- SAT Range 1270-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 39%
- Net Price $32,769