Best Colleges in Massachusetts 2026

Massachusetts has 107 colleges and universities in our database; 87 report the graduation-rate data our ranking requires. The top 25 are ranked below by a fixed four-factor formula: 6-year graduation rate (30%), median earnings 10 years after entry (30%), admission selectivity (20%), and in-state tuition affordability (20%).

Schools Ranked

$89,429

Avg. Earnings

84.2%

Avg. Graduation Rate

Top 25 Schools

College rankings
#	School	Graduation Rate	Median Earnings	Acceptance Rate	In-State Tuition
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts	96.1%	$143,372	4.0%	$60,156
2	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering Needham, Massachusetts	92.2%	$129,455	19.1%	$64,458
3	Babson College Wellesley, Massachusetts	92.4%	$123,938	22.4%	$56,032
4	Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts	97.3%	$101,817	3.2%	$59,076
5	Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	91.0%	$103,937	16.7%	$67,680
6	Williams College Williamstown, Massachusetts	96.6%	$88,665	8.5%	$64,860
7	Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts	90.4%	$92,538	6.8%	$63,141
8	Bentley University Waltham, Massachusetts	88.2%	$120,959	57.9%	$58,150
9	Tufts University Medford, Massachusetts	93.3%	$83,214	9.7%	$67,844
10	Wellesley College Wellesley, Massachusetts	91.2%	$84,803	13.6%	$64,320
11	Amherst College Amherst, Massachusetts	93.4%	$77,644	7.3%	$67,280
12	Boston University Boston, Massachusetts	90.0%	$83,238	14.4%	$65,168
13	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, Massachusetts	83.2%	$71,631	63.5%	$17,357
14	Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts	79.1%	$82,392	89.4%	$10,816
15	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, Massachusetts	89.6%	$90,543	36.4%	$60,850
16	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, Massachusetts	88.4%	$103,470	57.5%	$59,070
17	MCPHS University Boston, Massachusetts	63.3%	$125,557	88.3%	$38,850
18	Smith College Northampton, Massachusetts	89.7%	$64,027	22.9%	$61,568
19	Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts	86.1%	$77,231	39.4%	$64,946
20	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, Massachusetts	70.1%	$64,874	86.0%	$16,570
21	Emerson College Boston, Massachusetts	79.3%	$62,832	42.8%	$55,392
22	Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology Boston, Massachusetts	47.2%	$57,556		$18,906
23	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, Massachusetts	85.0%	$58,418	39.8%	$64,142
24	Stonehill College Easton, Massachusetts	80.8%	$77,745	73.4%	$54,500
25	University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, Massachusetts	51.1%	$65,865	80.8%	$15,496