New England is well-known for its vibrant college scene and more than 100 colleges of higher learning making New England home.
The most well-known universities globally are located in New England – schools like Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth are all associated with top northeastern education.
But, there are many top institutions located in New England outside these well-known Ivy League institutions.
Many of these schools have substantial research expenses, which help their local economies. They have employment rates as high as other colleges.
Today, we outline ten unique “hidden gem” universities in New England.
What does it mean to be a hidden Gem?
1. The institution must have proven its excellence in the past ten years by way of studies, ranking, assessment of graduates, the satisfaction of students, and so on.
The second reason is that the school has not yet been among the top 200 on the US News national universities list.
Thirdly, the school should be a university. Although there are many outstanding secret-gem liberal arts schools within New England, we will be focusing on programs based at universities for this report.
In addition, the colleges that are mentioned here are distinct from the colleges that were listed on the other “hidden gem” list we have recently published.
These are the top “hidden gem” universities in New England.
Southern Connecticut State University (New Haven, CT)Wshyam, Buley Library, CBY-SA CC BY 4.0
This private university is home to several of the top New England specializations, including nursing and teaching. SCSU offers the annual NCLEX (licensing test for nurses) with 90% and 100% passing rates, much over the national median of just 73% nationally.
SCSU is among New England’s top universities that offer study abroad opportunities. SCSU students have the chance to explore more than 100 countries through SCSU’s International Education programs.
SCSU is constantly re-inventing its curriculum to accommodate the requirements of the new millennium. A recent expansion to their curriculum is the course that focuses on Data Science. One of the most rapidly growing job markets in the United States, earning an annual starting wage of about $130k.
The alumni of SCSU include New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman and Wonder Years actor Dan Lauria.
Roger Williams University (Bristol, RI)
Kenneth C. Zirkel, Roger Williams University School of Art, CC BY-SA 4.0
Roger Williams University (RWU) is one of the top New England schools in career opportunities. Students have an average of 95% employed within the first two years after graduating. RWU is the home of the only law school in Rhode Island.
Roger Williams is hardly simply a New England school. This school has a significant global presence and has established schools in London and Florence and various sister institutions across France, Brazil, and Vietnam.
RWU is setting the stage for greater access to higher education. The initiatives to improve financial accessibility are raising the value of financial aid. This is based on merit and needs and eliminating GPA criteria for merit-based scholarship (academic performances do not revoke the scholarships). Also, cutting the cost of room and board by $800 and attempting to reduce lab fees ultimately.
RWU establishes a gold standard for trans and queer student inclusion by implementing inclusivity-focused policies and practices. The heart of the RWU campus is the Queer and Trans Advocacy Center, which oversees the policies and initiatives for inclusion across the campus and policies and procedures.
