Lens covers 55 liberal arts colleges in the Northeast, 10 public and 45 private. They range from Hartwick College (1,087 undergraduates) to United States Military Academy (4,408). Acceptance rates run from 7% to 97%, and 27 of the 55 admit at least half of applicants.
Liberal arts colleges are small colleges focused on undergraduate teaching across the arts and sciences, as classified by Carnegie. In Lens, the Northeast means Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Open these 55 colleges in the College Filter → Narrow them by cost at your rate, majors, size and more.
The 55 liberal arts colleges in the Northeast
Listed A to Z. Lens never ranks colleges.
| College | Location | Undergraduates | Acceptance rate | Tuition & fees (before aid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albright College | Reading, Pennsylvania | 1,217 | 76% | $29,082 |
| Allegheny College | Meadville, Pennsylvania | 1,156 | 55% | $56,550 |
| Amherst College | Amherst, Massachusetts | 1,911 | 9% | $70,480 |
| Bard College | Annandale-On-Hudson, New York | 2,414 | 52% | $66,436 |
| Barnard College | New York, New York | 3,264 | 9% | $69,888 |
| Bates College | Lewiston, Maine | 1,760 | 13% | $66,590 |
| Bowdoin College | Brunswick, Maine | 1,873 | 7% | $67,832 |
| Bryn Mawr College | Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania | 1,359 | 29% | $65,920 |
| Bucknell University | Lewisburg, Pennsylvania | 3,876 | 29% | $67,812 |
| CUNY Medgar Evers College | Brooklyn, New York | 3,233 | 86% | $7,352 in-state · $15,302 out-of-state |
| Colby College | Waterville, Maine | 2,407 | 7% | $69,600 |
| Colgate University | Hamilton, New York | 3,180 | 14% | $70,306 |
| College of the Holy Cross | Worcester, Massachusetts | 3,106 | 18% | $64,500 |
| Connecticut College | New London, Connecticut | 1,937 | 37% | $67,242 |
| Dickinson College | Carlisle, Pennsylvania | 2,273 | 42% | $65,650 |
| Eastern Connecticut State University | Willimantic, Connecticut | 3,418 | 83% | $13,928 in-state · $17,428 out-of-state |
| Elizabethtown College | Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania | 1,868 | 78% | $37,950 |
| Emmanuel College | Boston, Massachusetts | 1,854 | 76% | $48,550 |
| Franklin and Marshall College | Lancaster, Pennsylvania | 1,799 | 28% | $70,794 |
| Gettysburg College | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania | 2,099 | 39% | $66,640 |
| Hamilton College | Clinton, New York | 2,030 | 14% | $68,960 |
| Hartwick College | Oneonta, New York | 1,087 | 70% | $54,962 |
| Haverford College | Haverford, Pennsylvania | 1,430 | 12% | $70,688 |
| Hobart William Smith Colleges | Geneva, New York | 1,786 | 64% | $65,117 |
| Lafayette College | Easton, Pennsylvania | 2,757 | 31% | $65,398 |
| Marymount Manhattan College | New York, New York | 1,577 | 83% | $41,870 |
| Middlebury College | Middlebury, Vermont | 2,738 | 11% | $67,600 |
| Mount Holyoke College | South Hadley, Massachusetts | 2,169 | 36% | $67,018 |
| Muhlenberg College | Allentown, Pennsylvania | 1,727 | 72% | $62,805 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College | Erie, Pennsylvania | 3,240 | 97% | $15,972 in-state · $26,958 out-of-state |
| Pennsylvania State University–Penn State Abington | Abington, Pennsylvania | 2,877 | 97% | $15,268 in-state · $25,664 out-of-state |
| SUNY College at Geneseo | Geneseo, New York | 3,869 | 66% | $8,999 in-state · $19,569 out-of-state |
| SUNY College at Potsdam | Potsdam, New York | 1,823 | 78% | $8,768 in-state · $18,678 out-of-state |
| SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | Syracuse, New York | 1,839 | 63% | $9,303 in-state · $22,263 out-of-state |
| SUNY Old Westbury | Old Westbury, New York | 4,162 | 84% | $8,422 in-state · $18,842 out-of-state |
| SUNY at Purchase College | Purchase, New York | 3,197 | 74% | $8,953 in-state · $19,203 out-of-state |
| Saint Anselm College | Manchester, New Hampshire | 2,087 | 78% | $48,920 |
| Sarah Lawrence College | Bronxville, New York | 1,530 | 62% | $66,862 |
| Siena College | Loudonville, New York | 3,409 | 69% | $46,580 |
| Skidmore College | Saratoga Springs, New York | 2,694 | 21% | $67,290 |
| Smith College | Northampton, Massachusetts | 2,544 | 21% | $65,178 |
| St Lawrence University | Canton, New York | 1,918 | 54% | $65,900 |
| Stonehill College | Easton, Massachusetts | 2,528 | 66% | $57,490 |
| Susquehanna University | Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania | 2,163 | 81% | $59,850 |
| Swarthmore College | Swarthmore, Pennsylvania | 1,613 | 7% | $65,494 |
| Trinity College | Hartford, Connecticut | 2,146 | 29% | $70,770 |
| Union College | Schenectady, New York | 2,046 | 44% | $69,039 |
| United States Military Academy | West Point, New York | 4,408 | 12% | – |
| Ursinus College | Collegeville, Pennsylvania | 1,491 | 92% | $61,210 |
| Vassar College | Poughkeepsie, New York | 2,444 | 19% | $71,030 |
| Washington & Jefferson College | Washington, Pennsylvania | 1,295 | 81% | $29,392 |
| Wellesley College | Wellesley, Massachusetts | 2,300 | 14% | $67,176 |
| Wesleyan University | Middletown, Connecticut | 3,067 | 16% | $70,342 |
| Wheaton College (Massachusetts) | Norton, Massachusetts | 1,773 | 68% | $63,960 |
| Williams College | Williamstown, Massachusetts | 2,076 | 8% | $68,560 |
Sources: IPEDS (fall 2024 enrollment and admissions); College Scorecard (published tuition and fees before aid, about 2023–24). You may pay less if receiving grants or scholarships.
Related lists
- Liberal Arts Colleges
- Liberal Arts Colleges in the Southeast
- Liberal Arts Colleges in the Midwest
- Liberal Arts Colleges in the South and Southwest
- Liberal Arts Colleges on the West Coast
- Large Public Universities in the Northeast
- Smaller Public Universities in the Northeast
- Large Private Universities in the Northeast
- Smaller Private Universities in the Northeast
- Engineering and Tech Schools in the Northeast
- Catholic Colleges in the Northeast
- Jesuit Colleges in the Northeast
- Colleges with Big-Time Sports in the Northeast
FAQ
Which liberal arts colleges in the Northeast admit at least half of applicants? 27 of the 55: Albright College, Allegheny College, Bard College, CUNY Medgar Evers College, Eastern Connecticut State University, Elizabethtown College, Emmanuel College, Hartwick College, Hobart William Smith Colleges, Marymount Manhattan College, Muhlenberg College, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College and 15 more (fall 2024).
What are the largest and smallest liberal arts colleges in the Northeast? United States Military Academy is the largest, with 4,408 undergraduates, and Hartwick College is the smallest, with 1,087 (fall 2024).
How many liberal arts colleges in the Northeast are public? 10 of the 55 are public and 45 are private.
Where these numbers come from
Lens covers the 850 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges that receive the most applications, so some smaller colleges are not listed. Enrollment, acceptance rates and degrees come from IPEDS (U.S. Department of Education, fall 2024); published prices from the College Scorecard. Each college's page lists its own sources. See the data behind Lens.