2022 best colleges in Massachusetts
Read more

Net cost: The median annual cost of all students that receive any aid. This does not refer to the “sticker price”, the price listed by the college.
Earnings: The median earnings of all bachelor-level students 10 years after enrollment. This includes both students that do and do not graduate, across all majors.
Payback: The amount of time in years it takes to pay off the median net cost by the median earnings. For this calculation, the median earning of high school graduates (in the school’s home state) are deducted from the median earnings.
Degree premium: The difference between the school’s median earnings and the median earnings for all schools in the same state. This is called “Vs. state average” in school profiles below.
Ranking: The payback rate is divided by the degree premium (set as a percentage), the lower the number the higher the rank. (i.e. payback=1, degree premium 20% higher than state school median: 1/120% = .883.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 8%
Grad rate: 96%
Net cost: $16,636
Payback: Under a year
Earnings: $111,222
Vs. state average: + $43,464
Economic score: 0.50
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
Needham, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 17%
Grad rate: 94%
Net cost: $20,540
Payback: Under a year
Earnings: $132,969
Vs. state average: + $65,211
Economic score: 0.51
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 6%
Grad rate: 98%
Net cost: $15,386
Payback: 1.1 Years
Earnings: $84,918
Vs. state average: + $17,160
Economic score: 0.89
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 93%
Grad rate: 78%
Net cost: $20,485
Payback: 1.4 Years
Earnings: $91,668
Vs. state average: + $23,910
Economic score: 1.00
MCPHS University
Boston, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 92%
Grad rate: 80%
Net cost: $37,712
Payback: 1.8 Years
Earnings: $118,171
Vs. state average: + $50,413
Economic score: 1.03
Babson College
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 27%
Grad rate: 92%
Net cost: $34,606
Payback: 1.8 Years
Earnings: $106,595
Vs. state average: + $38,837
Economic score: 1.12
Bentley University
Waltham, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 58%
Grad rate: 88%
Net cost: $38,986
Payback: 2.5 Years
Earnings: $107,974
Vs. state average: + $40,216
Economic score: 1.55
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 27%
Grad rate: 91%
Net cost: $35,899
Payback: 2.2 Years
Earnings: $93,021
Vs. state average: + $25,263
Economic score: 1.61
Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 12%
Grad rate: 93%
Net cost: $18,524
Payback: 1.7 Years
Earnings: $71,567
Vs. state average: + $3,809
Economic score: 1.64
Williams College
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 16%
Grad rate: 96%
Net cost: $19,480
Payback: 1.8 Years
Earnings: $71,608
Vs. state average: + $3,850
Economic score: 1.71
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 60%
Grad rate: 88%
Net cost: $39,756
Payback: 2.6 Years
Earnings: $89,405
Vs. state average: + $21,647
Economic score: 2.00
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 38%
Grad rate: 92%
Net cost: $37,292
Payback: 2.6 Years
Earnings: $84,653
Vs. state average: + $16,895
Economic score: 2.11
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 21%
Grad rate: 88%
Net cost: $30,259
Payback: 2.6 Years
Earnings: $75,642
Vs. state average: + $7,884
Economic score: 2.29
University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 76%
Grad rate: 61%
Net cost: $19,119
Payback: 2.3 Years
Earnings: $65,584
Vs. state average: - $2,174
Economic score: 2.34
Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 21%
Grad rate: 93%
Net cost: $22,087
Payback: 2.3 Years
Earnings: $66,531
Vs. state average: - $1,227
Economic score: 2.36
Merrimack College
North Andover, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 82%
Grad rate: 72%
Net cost: $33,650
Payback: 2.8 Years
Earnings: $76,392
Vs. state average: + $8,634
Economic score: 2.49
Northeastern University
Boston, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 21%
Grad rate: 88%
Net cost: $31,093
Payback: 3.0 Years
Earnings: $79,786
Vs. state average: + $12,028
Economic score: 2.57
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 77%
Grad rate: 56%
Net cost: $18,503
Payback: 2.5 Years
Earnings: $60,711
Vs. state average: - $7,047
Economic score: 2.78
Brandeis University
Waltham, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 34%
Grad rate: 88%
Net cost: $31,165
Payback: 3.0 Years
Earnings: $70,327
Vs. state average: + $2,569
Economic score: 2.88
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Boston, Massachusetts
Admission rate: 94%
Grad rate: 65%
Net cost: $36,113
Payback: 3.2 Years
Earnings: $75,515
Vs. state average: + $7,757
Economic score: 2.88
