2024 Best Colleges in Connecticut

Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut, offers a small college life with the resources of a major research institution. Yale students are divided into 14 residential colleges that foster a supportive environment for living, learning and socializing.

The University of Connecticut, located in Storrs, was originally known as the Storrs Agricultural School ­— a fitting name for an institution surrounded by farmland. Storrs is a sleepy town about a 30-minute drive from Hartford; 60 minutes from Providence, R.I.; and 90 minutes from Boston. Without many activities off campus, students can get involved in the more than 450 clubs and organizations on campus, including more than 30 fraternities and sororities. They can also catch a film in the on-campus movie theater and skate for free in the school’s ice rink. Sports are a major focus for students; the UConn Huskies compete in the NCAA Division I American Athletic Conference, in which UConn’s basketball teams are especially ferocious competitors. Freshmen do not have to live on campus, though more than 70 percent of all undergraduates choose to do so. Each year before final exams, students gather for Spring Weekend, a fun-filled, multi-day celebration that began as the school’s Campus Community Carnival in the 1940s.

Located on the Connecticut shoreline, Fairfield University is a private, Jesuit institution. Fairfield encourages students to explore the arts by bringing numerous performers to campus each year. 

A private school in Hamden, Connecticut, Quinnipiac University offers a variety of campus events for students to attend, including comedy shows and film series. Students can also have fun by joining a Division I sports team or by taking a group trip to New York City or Boston.

Founded in 1963, Sacred Heart University is a private institution. The school has 36.2% of its classes with fewer than 20 students, and the student-faculty ratio at Sacred Heart University is 16:1.

Located in central Connecticut, the University of Hartford is a private school where students value annual traditions. U of H students can participate in events such as the Spring Fling party and the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration or stay involved with clubs and Division I sports throughout the year.

A private, seaside school in Connecticut, the University of Bridgeport offers many clubs, Greek organizations and sports on campus, as well as parks and a zoo nearby. Famous former students include the 7-foot-7 NBA player Manute Bol and Subway restaurant co-founder Fred DeLuca.

Wesleyan University is located in Middletown, Conn., overlooking the Connecticut River. The private institution’s sports teams compete in the Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference, as well as in the unofficial Little Three athletic conference with Amherst College and Williams College.

Students at Trinity College live in an intimate setting in the midst of a bustling state capital. The campus is located in Hartford, Conn., a large city where students can do everything from attending concerts at the Comcast and Webster theatres to learning how to shoot a cannon from the Revolutionary War at the Old State House. Attending school in the state’s capital also means students have hundreds of opportunities for internships at various organizations throughout the city. Freshmen must live on campus, and will reside and take classes with other students in their selected First-Year Program. Outside of class, students can choose from more than 100 clubs and organizations in which to get involved. There are a handful of Greek organizations on campus. The Trinity sports teams compete in the NCAA Division III New England Small College Athletics Conference, cheered on by the school mascot, a species of rooster known as the bantam. Don’t get confused in your college search: Trinity College is a common name for schools of various faiths, but this liberal arts school is nondenominational.

Connecticut College offers its students a lot of choice in their studies through its Connections curriculum. There are still some required courses though, such as a first-year seminar and two semesters of foreign language courses. Nearly all undergraduates are expected to live on campus.