Private colleges, unlike large public institutions, can be a great option for students wanting a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Here is our list of the best private colleges in Connecticut.
Connecticut is home to a variety of top brick-and-mortar schools as well as a wide variety of fully accredited online colleges. Higher education in Connecticut includes both public and private institutions that offer associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, both in person and through online degree programs.
With 19 public schools and 20 private schools, Connecticut gives both traditional and online students plenty of options to choose from.
Students seeking an affordable option can attend one of the state’s numerous community colleges, which average $4,000 a year for tuition. The in-state cost for tuition in Connecticut’s four year public schools ranges from $8,000 to $16,000. Many of the community and public colleges in Connecticut also offer online degree programs.
Students interested in psychology, economics, and communications can check out the University of Connecticut (UConn), which is home to the premier research institute for ecological psychology. Sacred Heart University, a Roman Catholic university, is known for its religious studies and business programs.
Those looking for a smaller student population and more online courses may want to check out Manchester Community College, which enrolls about 4000 students and offers affordable in-person and online degrees in literature, biology, and social work.
And of course, Connecticut is also home to Yale University, the fourth oldest learning institute in the United States. The venerable Ivy League school enrolls just over 15,000 students at its New Haven campus.
Both traditional and online students in Connecticut can choose from a variety of higher education experiences fitting a full spectrum of budgets and career goals. Learn more and begin earning your degree from one of the top brick-and-mortar or online colleges in Connecticut.
Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models. Public colleges and universities are owned by the state and receive both state and federal funding to operate. Private colleges and universities are private companies with private funding. If you’re looking at the pros and cons of private vs. public colleges, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.
Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a bachelor’s degree at a public university is often lower than the equivalent cost at a private college — especially for students attending a public school in their home state. Attending a college in-state is usually the cheapest option. Private universities and colleges can be very competitive with their funding opportunities, so do not simply believe that private colleges are always going to be more expensive. According to National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually. But in the end, the cost of college comes down to each student’s academic and financial situation.
This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer bachelor’s degrees. We’ve identified 14 private universities in Connecticut. To be included in the list below of the best private universities in Connecticut, schools must be fully accredited, private, non-profit institution, and must offer a broad range of bachelor’s degrees.
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
7%
Graduation
96%
Student body
16K
Median SAT/ACT
1515/34
Yale University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
21%
Graduation
91%
Student body
4K
Wesleyan University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
36%
Graduation
82%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1374/30
Trinity College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$51K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
76%
Student body
9K
Quinnipiac University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
56%
Graduation
82%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1280/28
Fairfield University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
40%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/20
University of Bridgeport’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
38%
Graduation
82%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1380/31
Connecticut College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
55%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/24
University of Hartford’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
65%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1125/24
University of New Haven’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
73%
Student body
9K
Sacred Heart University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
25%
Student body
10K
Post University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
59%
Student body
<1K
Mitchell College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
49%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
970/19
Albertus Magnus College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
56%
Student body
2K
University of Saint Joseph ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utiulized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.
Check out our directory of private colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top private schools in every state.
