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Best Colleges in Massachusetts

Top Massachusetts colleges ranked by what actually matters after graduation: earnings, completion rates, and what you actually pay. Federal data. No surveys, no sponsorships.

Schools in ranking

Massachusetts schools in dataset

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How We Rank Massachusetts Colleges

Rankings use a composite score from verified federal data: graduate earnings (28%), graduation rate (25%), social mobility via Pell Grant share (20%), debt burden (15%), and net cost for low-income students (12%). Only 4-year non-profit schools with sufficient data qualify.

→Earnings: Median annual earnings 10 years after enrollment. Source: College Scorecard.
→Graduation rate: Full-time first-time students completing within 150% of normal time. Source: IPEDS.
→Net price: Average annual cost after all grants and scholarships. Source: IPEDS.
→Social mobility: Share of students receiving Pell Grants — a direct measure of access for low-income students. Source: IPEDS.
→Debt burden: Median federal loan debt at graduation. Source: College Scorecard.

Top 10 Colleges in Massachusetts (2026)

Ranked by composite: earnings, graduation rate, social mobility, debt, affordability.

#	School	Accept	Net Price/yr	Grad Rate	Earnings (10yr)
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	5%	$19,813	96%	$143,372
2	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	4%	$16,816	98%	$101,817
3	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA	25%	$20,575	96%	$129,455
4	Williams College Williamstown, MA	8%	$14,852	94%	$88,665
5	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	14%	$25,008	92%	$84,803
6	Amherst College Amherst, MA	9%	$18,246	94%	$77,644
7	Babson College Wellesley, MA	17%	$38,876	93%	$123,938
8	Bay Path University Longmeadow, MA	85%	$14,590	44%	$55,383
9	MCPHS University Boston, MA	85%	$35,084	62%	$125,557
10	Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology Boston, MA	50%	$16,172	46%	$57,556

68 Massachusetts schools in dataset. Top 10 shown. Data: IPEDS + College Scorecard. Updated annually.

All 68 Colleges in the Dataset

The ranking above shows the top 10 by composite score. Every school in the full dataset is listed here so you can explore beyond the top results.

American International College Amherst College Anna Maria College Assumption University Babson College Bard College at Simon's Rock Bay Path University Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology Bentley University Berklee College of Music Boston Architectural College Boston Baptist College Boston College Boston University Brandeis University Bridgewater State University Clark University College of Our Lady of the Elms College of the Holy Cross Curry College Dean College Eastern Nazarene College Emerson College Emmanuel College Endicott College Fisher College Fitchburg State University Framingham State University Franklin W Olin College of Engineering Gordon College Hampshire College Harvard University Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Lasell University Lesley University Longy School of Music of Bard College Massachusetts College of Art and Design Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Maritime Academy MCPHS University Merrimack College Montserrat College of Art Mount Holyoke College Nichols College Northeastern University Northpoint Bible College Regis College Salem State University Simmons University Smith College Springfield College Stonehill College Suffolk University The New England Conservatory of Music Tufts University University of Massachusetts-Amherst University of Massachusetts-Boston University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth University of Massachusetts-Lowell Wellesley College Wentworth Institute of Technology Western New England University Westfield State University Wheaton College (Massachusetts)Williams College Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester State University

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