The Best New England Small Colleges
These are the top ranked small, public and private, four-year colleges in New England 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
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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
Colby College
- Private 4 Year
- Waterville, ME
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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
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
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
Smith College
- Private 4 Year
- Northampton, MA
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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
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
Rhode Island School of Design
- Private 4 Year
- Providence, RI
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| 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
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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
Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
- Private 4 Year
- Norton, MA
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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
Springfield College
- Private 4 Year
- Springfield, MA
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| 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
Saint Anselm College
- Private 4 Year
- Manchester, NH
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| 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
Salve Regina University
- Private 4 Year
- Newport, RI
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4.0 | 2 reviews
- 2,791 total enrollment
Salve Regina is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing and historic preservation. The Newport campus overlooks the Atlantic and incorporates several Gilded Age mansions.
- SAT Range 1160-1330
- Avg GPA 3.52
- Acceptance Rate 68%
- Net Price $38,307
Saint Michael's College
- Private 4 Year
- Colchester, VT
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| 0 reviews
- 1,323 total enrollment
Saint Michael's is a private Catholic liberal arts college known for undergraduate education, biology, and business. The residential campus sits near Burlington and Lake Champlain in northwestern Vermont.
- SAT Range 1120-1280
- Avg GPA 3.27
- Acceptance Rate 85%
- Net Price $27,982
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
- Public 4 Year
- Buzzards Bay, MA
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| 0 reviews
- 1,488 total enrollment
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