2026 Best Private Colleges in Massachusetts

Name: 2026 Best Private Colleges in Massachusetts (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

47 Massachusetts schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Private Colleges ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 47 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Private Colleges

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge

Acceptance rate

4.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,510

Avg. Cost after Aid

$31,000

#2 Best Private Colleges

Harvard University

Cambridge

Acceptance rate

3.5%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$51,143

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,872

#3 Best Private Colleges

Northeastern University

Boston

Acceptance rate

5.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$56,500

Avg. Cost after Aid

$39,000

#4 Best Private Colleges

Williams College

Williamstown

Acceptance rate

10.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$59,350

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#5 Best Private Colleges

Boston College

Chestnut Hill

Acceptance rate

15.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,530

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#6 Best Private Colleges

Babson College

Babson Park

Acceptance rate

19.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$54,944

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

#7 Best Private Colleges

Tufts University

Medford

Acceptance rate

10.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$61,646

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#8 Best Private Colleges

Wellesley College

Wellesley

Acceptance rate

13.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$60,424

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#9 Best Private Colleges

Amherst College

Amherst

Acceptance rate

9.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$60,700

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#10 Best Private Colleges

Boston University

Boston

Acceptance rate

10.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$58,560

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#11 Best Private Colleges

College of the Holy Cross

Worcester

Acceptance rate

21.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$55,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

#12 Best Private Colleges

Bentley University

Waltham

Acceptance rate

48.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$54,910

Avg. Cost after Aid

$42,000

#13 Best Private Colleges

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester

Acceptance rate

58.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$54,640

Avg. Cost after Aid

$48,000

#14 Best Private Colleges

Brandeis University

Waltham

Acceptance rate

35.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$59,408

Avg. Cost after Aid

$35,000

#15 Best Private Colleges

Smith College

Northampton

Acceptance rate

19.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,830

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#16 Best Private Colleges

Emerson College

Boston

Acceptance rate

47.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$50,360

Avg. Cost after Aid

$49,000

#17 Best Private Colleges

Clark University

Worcester

Acceptance rate

41.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$49,950

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#18 Best Private Colleges

Mount Holyoke College

South Hadley

Acceptance rate

38.3%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$56,300

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

#19 Best Private Colleges

Stonehill College

Easton

Acceptance rate

72.6%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$47,808

Avg. Cost after Aid

$31,000

#20 Best Private Colleges

Wheaton College - Massachusetts

Norton

Acceptance rate

71.3%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$54,118

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,934

#21 Best Private Colleges

Merrimack College

North Andover

Acceptance rate

73.6%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$43,842

Avg. Cost after Aid

$36,000

#22 Best Private Colleges

Simmons University

Boston

Acceptance rate

66.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$41,872

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#23 Best Private Colleges

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Boston

Acceptance rate

85.4%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$37,050

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#24 Best Private Colleges

Endicott College

Beverly

Acceptance rate

72.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,764

Avg. Cost after Aid

$38,000

#25 Best Private Colleges

Assumption University

Worcester

Acceptance rate

86.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$45,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

2026 Best Private Colleges in Massachusetts

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