A safety school is a college that you’re almost certain to get into. And while you might not be thrilled about attending your safety school, it’s a good backup plan to have in case you don’t get into your first-choice school. Many students who end up at their safety school end up growing to love it and forgetting all about their former “dream” school.
If you’re applying to colleges in Massachusetts, the good news is you have an abundance of high-quality safety options. This guide covers the 10 best safety schools in Massachusetts.
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Best Safety Schools in Massachusetts
We came up with this list of Massachusetts safety schools by focusing on colleges and universities with acceptance rates over 70% and either test-optional or test-blind admissions policies. We also tried to limit it to schools with graduation rates that at the very least hover around the national average of 60%.
By applying to one or more (or all 10!) of the schools on this list, you can reasonably assure that you get into a reputable college in Massachusetts that can provide you with a high-quality education and a respected degree.
Here are our choices for the best safety schools in Massachusetts.
Stonehill College
- Location: Easton, MA
- Acceptance rate: 73%
- SAT midrange: N/A (test blind)
- ACT midrange: N/A (test blind)
- Test optional: Test blind
- Graduation rate: 82%
- U.S. News ranking: #86 in National Liberal Arts Colleges
Stonehill College is a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Easton, Massachusetts with an undergraduate enrollment of about 2,500. The college is known for its rigorous academic programs, beautiful campus, and friendly community.
Stonehill students come from all over the world and represent a variety of backgrounds and cultures. The college offers a variety of services and programs to help students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. It’s clearly working, too, as evidenced by the school’s graduation rate of over 80% — extremely high for a so-called “safety school.”
Because Stonehill has recently gone test-blind — it won’t consider your SAT or ACT scores even if you submit them with your application — it’s an ideal safety school for students who have strong high school grades, class rank, and extracurricular activities but who might not have performed as well as they would have liked on their standardized tests.
University of Massachusetts—Lowell
- Location: Lowell, MA
- Acceptance rate: 86%
- SAT midrange: 1,170-1,360
- ACT midrange: 25-31
- Test optional: Yes
- Graduation rate: 69%
- U.S. News ranking: #159 in National Universities
UMass-Lowell is a public research university is located in Lowell, Massachusetts, and is part of the University of Massachusetts system. It has about 19,000 undergraduate students. The school is affordable and relatively easy to get into while offering a degree that is highly respected throughout the region.
UMass-Lowell is known for its strong STEM programs, and its graduates have some of the highest starting salaries in the state. The school also has a growing reputation for research, and its faculty are engaged in cutting-edge work in fields like nanotechnology and biotechnology.
The city of Lowell, located just outside Boston’s outer beltway, is also a great place to live — convenient to the city, but far enough away that you have room to breathe and don’t have to pay Boston rents.
Assumption University
- Location: Worcester, MA
- Acceptance rate: 82%
- SAT midrange: Not reported
- ACT midrange: Not reported
- Test optional: Yes
- Graduation rate: 72%
- U.S. News ranking: #54 in Regional Universities North
Located in Worcester, Assumption University is a private Roman Catholic college with about 2,400 undergraduates. If you’re shooting for Holy Cross but need a good safety, Assumption is worth a look, as it accepts more than 80% of its students and is test-optional but still boasts a graduation rate of 72%, far above the national average.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
- Location: North Adams, MA
- Acceptance rate: 93%
- SAT midrange: N/A (test blind)
- ACT midrange: N/A (test blind)
- Test optional: Test blind
- Graduation rate: 57%
- U.S. News ranking: #121 in National Liberal Arts Colleges
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a small public liberal arts college in North Adams, in the Berkshires near the borders with Vermont and New York.
The campus is rural but breathtaking, offering a similar feel to small liberal arts colleges like Williams and Middlebury that are far more brutally selective. MCLA, on the other hand, accepts over 90% of its applicants and is test-blind, meaning it doesn’t consider SAT or ACT results when making admissions decisions.
MCLA has an enrollment of about 1,100 undergraduates. It also has a well-regarded honors program that provides students with additional mentoring, research opportunities, and even scholarships.
University of Massachusetts—Boston
- Location: Boston, MA
- Acceptance rate: 81%
- SAT midrange: 1,080-1,300
- ACT midrange: 24-29
- Test optional: Yes
- Graduation rate: 50%
- U.S. News ranking: #216 in National Universities
UMass-Boston is a public research university with a gorgeous campus right on the Boston Harbor. It is classified as a Research University with Highest Research Activity by the Carnegie Foundation. The university offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in over 70 disciplines.
Not only is the campus serene and picturesque, but it includes several historical landmarks such as the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and the John F. Kennedy Library.
UMass-Boston has an enrollment of over 12,000 undergraduates, plus another 3,500 post-grads. Many of its students are local commuters, but the university also has a large contingency of international students from all over the world.
With an acceptance rate of 81%, a test-optional admission policy, and an SAT average of 1,190, UMass-Boston is a great safety for students reaching for schools like UMass-Amherst and Emerson College.
Bridgewater State University
- Location: Bridgewater, MA
- Acceptance rate: 88%
- SAT midrange: 1,030-1,215
- ACT midrange: 19-25
- Test optional: Yes
- Graduation rate: 60%
- U.S. News ranking: #91 in Regional Universities North
Bridgewater State University is a mid-sized public university located in the town of Bridgewater, about halfway between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. The school has an enrollment of about 9,000 undergraduates and 1,600 graduate students.
BSU offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees and is the second most affordable public university in Massachusetts. It’s also one of the easiest to get into, with an acceptance rate of 88% and an SAT average of just over 1,100. The school is test-optional, so you don’t have to submit scores if you don’t want to. BSU’s graduation rate of 60% hovers right around the national average.
The school has highly regarded programs in education and business but is also strong in the liberal arts and sciences.
Wheaton College
- Location: Norton, MA
- Acceptance rate: 80%
- SAT midrange: 1,200-1,400
- ACT midrange: 27-32
- Test optional: Yes
- Graduation rate: 77%
- U.S. News ranking: #75 in National Liberal Arts Colleges
Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, a town that is actually on the outskirts of Providence. The college was founded in 1834 as a women’s seminary and began admitting men in 1988. Wheaton is one of the oldest coeducational liberal arts colleges in the United States. The student body totals around 1,700 undergraduate students.
Wheaton has particularly strong programs in the sciences and social sciences. Students at Wheaton can also take advantage of the school’s study abroad program, which offers semester-long programs in England, France, Spain, China, and Japan.
Wheaton has an acceptance rate of 80% but high test score midranges, suggesting that the school’s applicant pool is self-selective to at least some degree. That said, you still have a great shot of getting in even if your SAT and ACT scores weren’t strong, as long as you made good grades in high school. Wheaton maintains a test-optional admission policy.
University of Massachusetts—Dartmouth
- Location: Dartmouth, MA
- Acceptance rate: 96%
- SAT midrange: 1,020-1,260
- ACT midrange: 22-31
- Test optional: Yes
- Graduation rate: 55%
- U.S. News ranking: #209 in National Universities
UMass-Dartmouth is another campus that is part of the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. It’s the only UMass campus located south of Boston.
With an undergraduate student body of about 7,000, UMass-Dartmouth is ideal for students who want a smaller school and a more intimate learning environment than can be found at a place like UMass-Amherst, but who don’t want to pay or can’t afford the sticker price at a private liberal arts college.
The university is known for its strong engineering and business programs, as well as its marine science research center.
The university’s location on the South Coast of Massachusetts gives students access to many beaches and outdoor activities. The town of North Dartmouth also has a few restaurants and cafes. Nearby New Bedford and Fall River supply additional nightlife and entertainment options.
With an acceptance rate of over 95%, UMass-Dartmouth is a quintessential safety school for average to above-average in-state students.
Merrimack College
- Location: North Andover, MA
- Acceptance rate: 75%
- SAT midrange: 1,020-1,260
- ACT midrange: 22-28
- Test optional: Yes (excluding nursing majors)
- Graduation rate: 72%
- U.S. News ranking: #33 in Regional Universities North
Merrimack College is a private school in North Andover with about 4,200 undergraduates and 1,200 post-grads. The school was founded in 1947 by the Order of St. Augustine and offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
The school has a strong focus on liberal arts and sciences and offers programs in business, education, science and engineering, nursing, and social work. Merrimack has an acceptance rate of 75%, an SAT average of 1,140, and an ACT average of 25 — however, only nursing school applicants are required to submit test scores.
Simmons University
- Location: Boston, MA
- Acceptance rate: 76%
- SAT midrange: 1,200-1,390
- ACT midrange: 28-32
- Test optional: Yes
- Graduation rate: 76%
- U.S. News ranking: #151 in National Universities
Simmons University is a private women’s college in the heart of Boston. Its campus is adjacent to Northeastern University. It has an enrollment of about 1,700 students, all female, though it did begin accepting transgender students in 2014. Many of its graduate programs, including its MBA program, are co-educational.
Simmons has a 76% acceptance rate, an SAT average of 1,295, and an ACT average of 30. However, the school is test-optional and encourages students to submit applications without scores if they feel their SAT or ACT results don’t fully reflect their abilities as a student. The school is known for its strong academics and its friendly campus environment.
In addition, the school’s location in downtown Boston gives students a major advantage in networking for internships and jobs after graduation. If you’re looking at women’s colleges in the Northeast, such as the Seven Sisters schools, and you need a good safety school, Simmons should be at the top of your list.
