by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its Top New England Region Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 154 schools in the New England Region to determine which ones were the best in terms of overall quality. To come up with this ranking, we look at more than 20 factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include freshman retention, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and post graduate earnings, among other things.
Find out more about our ranking methodology.
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named Massachusetts Institute of Technology the best school in the New England Region in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 87%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from MIT make an average of $143,372 a year.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Harvard University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the New England Region .
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $101,817 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 154 schools in the New England Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Babson College landed the #3 spot on the list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Babson College make an average of $123,938 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dartmouth College. It ranked #4 on our 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth make an average of $97,434 per year during the early years of their career.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in the New England Region list means Boston College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 89%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Boston College go into careers with an average salary of $103,937 during the early years of their career.
Yale University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from Yale make an average of $100,533 a year.
Boston University landed the #7 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Boston U make an average of $83,238 a year.
With a ranking of #8, Bentley University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 84%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Bentley make an average of $120,959 a year.
With a ranking of #9, Brown University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 84%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $93,487 during the early years of their career..
Northeastern University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern go into careers with an average salary of $92,538 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Tufts University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Tufts is $83,214 during the early years of their career.
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from MCPHS University go into careers with an average salary of $125,557 during the early years of their career.
Full Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Report
With a ranking of #13, MGH Institute of Health Professions did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from MGH Institute of Health Professions go into careers with an average salary of $87,130 during the early years of their career.
Fairfield University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking, coming in at #14.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 80%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Fairfield U make an average of $88,794 a year.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 81%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from WPI go into careers with an average salary of $103,470 during the early years of their career.
University of Connecticut came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $73,997 during the early years of their career..
College of the Holy Cross ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 90%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Holy Cross is $90,543 during the early years of their career.
University of Massachusetts Amherst ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 76%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst go into careers with an average salary of $71,631 during the early years of their career.
Simmons University landed the #19 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 7 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,494 during the early years of their career..
Amherst College landed the #20 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 85%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Amherst make an average of $77,644 per year during the early years of their career.
Bowdoin College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking, coming in at #21.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin make an average of $82,735 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #22, Bryant University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Bryant make an average of $90,008 a year.
Williams College landed the #23 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Williams go into careers with an average salary of $88,665 during the early years of their career.
Middlebury College landed the #24 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region ranking.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 87%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $76,310 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #25, Massachusetts College of Art and Design did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the New England Region list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. During the early years of their career, graduates from Massachusetts College of Art and Design make an average of $43,582 a year.
View Best Colleges Nationwide >
All Majors and Fields of Study >
These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Colby College | Waterville, ME |
| 28 | Brandeis University | Waltham, MA |
| 29 | Rhode Island School of Design | Providence, RI |
| 30 | Emerson College | Boston, MA |
| 31 | Providence College | Providence, RI |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.