The Most Selective Colleges in Massachusetts
Every eligible Massachusetts four-year that reports an admission rate, ranked hardest to get into first and easiest last — not a prestige Top 25. Selectivity here is the published rate, not a magazine composite.
Ranked by acceptance rate · 59 of 82 Massachusetts institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
#1
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
#2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
#3
Northeastern University
Boston, MA
- 1Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private3.5%Compare nearby
Also on 14 other lists
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#2
- Most Selective Colleges in America#2
- the Highest ACT Scores#3
- Psychology#3
- the Highest SAT Averages#3
- Biological Sciences#4
- Computer Science#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#6
- English Language & Literature#8
- History#8
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#10
- Are Least Likely to Leave#18
- Social Sciences#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#24
- 2Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private4.7%Compare nearby
Also on 16 other lists
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#1
- Biological Sciences#1
- Business#1
- Liberal Arts#1
- Multidisciplinary Studies#2
- Physical Sciences#2
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#3
- the Highest SAT Averages#4
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#5
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#6
- Most Selective Colleges in America#7
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#8
- Computer Science#10
- Engineering#11
- Mathematics & Statistics#12
- Are Least Likely to Leave#14
- 3Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · Private5.7%Compare nearby
- 4Amherst CollegeAmherst, MA · Private9.8%Compare nearby
- 5Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private10.0%Compare nearby
- 6Tufts UniversityMedford, MA · Private10.1%Compare nearby
- 7Boston UniversityBoston, MA · Private10.8%Compare nearby
- 8Wellesley CollegeWellesley, MA · Private13.9%Compare nearby
- 9Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · Private15.7%Compare nearby
- 10Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA · Private19.7%Compare nearby
- 11Babson CollegeWellesley, MA · Private19.7%Compare nearby
- 12College of the Holy CrossWorcester, MA · Private21.1%Compare nearby
- 13Brandeis UniversityWaltham, MA · Private35.3%Compare nearby
- 14Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley, MA · Private38.3%Compare nearby
- 15Laboure College of HealthcareMilton, MA · Private40.5%Compare nearby
- 16Clark UniversityWorcester, MA · Private41.7%Compare nearby
- 17Emerson CollegeBoston, MA · Private47.5%Compare nearby
- 18Bentley UniversityWaltham, MA · Private48.4%Compare nearby
- 19Berklee College of MusicBoston, MA · Private49.9%Compare nearby
- 20Hult International Business SchoolCambridge, MA · Private53.3%Compare nearby
- 21University of Massachusetts-AmherstAmherst, MA · Public57.8%Compare nearby
- 22Worcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester, MA · Private58.5%Compare nearby
- 23Gordon CollegeWenham, MA · Private58.8%Compare nearby
- 24Simmons UniversityBoston, MA · Private66.0%Compare nearby
- 25Springfield CollegeSpringfield, MA · Private70.2%Compare nearby
- 26Hampshire CollegeAmherst, MA · Private70.3%Compare nearby
- 27Fisher CollegeBoston, MA · Private70.8%Compare nearby
- 28Wheaton College (Massachusetts)Norton, MA · Private71.3%Compare nearby
- 29Endicott CollegeBeverly, MA · Private72.3%Compare nearby
- 30Stonehill CollegeEaston, MA · Private72.6%Compare nearby
- 31Bay Path UniversityLongmeadow, MA · Private73.5%Compare nearby
- 32Merrimack CollegeNorth Andover, MA · Private73.6%Compare nearby
- 33Dean CollegeFranklin, MA · Private73.7%Compare nearby
- 34Massachusetts College of Art and DesignBoston, MA · Public77.5%Compare nearby
- 35Emmanuel CollegeBoston, MA · Private80.6%Compare nearby
- 36Westfield State UniversityWestfield, MA · Public80.7%Compare nearby
- 37Lasell UniversityNewton, MA · Private82.3%Compare nearby
- 38University of Massachusetts-BostonBoston, MA · Public83.0%Compare nearby
- 39Western New England UniversitySpringfield, MA · Private83.3%Compare nearby
- 40Suffolk UniversityBoston, MA · Private84.7%Compare nearby
- 41Framingham State UniversityFramingham, MA · Public84.9%Compare nearby
- 42MCPHS UniversityBoston, MA · Private85.2%Compare nearby
- 43University of Massachusetts-LowellLowell, MA · Public85.2%Compare nearby
- 44Wentworth Institute of TechnologyBoston, MA · Private85.4%Compare nearby
- 45Assumption UniversityWorcester, MA · Private86.5%Compare nearby
- 46College of Our Lady of the ElmsChicopee, MA · Private87.7%Compare nearby
- 47Nichols CollegeDudley, MA · Private88.1%Compare nearby
- 48Bridgewater State UniversityBridgewater, MA · Public89.2%Compare nearby
- 49Regis CollegeWeston, MA · Private89.3%Compare nearby
- 50Anna Maria CollegePaxton, MA · Private89.6%Compare nearby
- 51Worcester State UniversityWorcester, MA · Public89.9%Compare nearby
- 52Fitchburg State UniversityFitchburg, MA · Public89.9%Compare nearby
- 53Curry CollegeMilton, MA · Private92.0%Compare nearby
- 54University of Massachusetts-DartmouthNorth Dartmouth, MA · Public92.2%Compare nearby
- 55Massachusetts College of Liberal ArtsNorth Adams, MA · Public92.3%Compare nearby
- 56Lesley UniversityCambridge, MA · Private94.4%Compare nearby
- 57Massachusetts Maritime AcademyBuzzards Bay, MA · Public94.5%Compare nearby
- 58Salem State UniversitySalem, MA · Public95.6%Compare nearby
- 59American International CollegeSpringfield, MA · Private96.9%Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Acceptance rate — sorted lowest to highest
- Source variable
ADM_RATE- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Massachusetts institutions in this universe (82 schools).
- Massachusetts four-year main campuses only. Rank order is published admission rate; on an exact tie, higher SAT average ranks above, and missing SAT does not drop a school. SAT is not shown because it is not the ranked measure. Schools without a published ADM_RATE are omitted rather than estimated.
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded — the same size floor as the national selectivity list — even when they report an admission rate. That cut is not a median-stability adjustment.
- 59 of 82 Massachusetts institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking (report the measure and pass any enrollment floor); the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
- Re-rank with your weightsRe-score with your weights, pre-filtered to MA
- Showdown: Harvard University vs Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyHigher-or-lower on Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Live leaderboardReshuffle Top 10–50 on one Scorecard measure
- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at Harvard UniversityEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Colleges with the Highest SAT Averages
Average SAT score of enrolled students. Reported by fewer than half of institutions as test-optional admissions has spread.
Colleges That Admit Nearly Everyone
Open and near-open admission four-year institutions, ranked by the share of applicants accepted.