Beautiful Maine with its over 200 miles in coastal shoreline and the highest moose population in the country also hosts a number of well-ranked, research-driven, affordable colleges and universities.
Maine is perhaps most known for its University of Maine system of schools, which makes sense when you consider the size of and contributions made by this greater network of universities. They also made news last year when they radically dropped tuition rates for residents in surrounding states. This means, for example, that a student at UMass Amherst can attend any University of Maine school for the same price.
Outside of the sprawling University of Maine system, however, are numerous other options for students to pursue. And currently the state is trying to promote just that. Recent studiesconducted in Maine have found that high schoolers who have the opportunity to enroll in early college courses are far more likely to graduate, attend college, and earn a degree. The state is currently trying to bolster this program in an effort to bring academic and economic success to its citizens. You may want to check out the Best Online Schools in Maine as well, an initiative helping many students earn degrees.
Accredited Online College Programs
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What are the Best Colleges and Universities in Maine?
Maine, like many East Coast schools, offers students an array of liberal arts education options, as it does bigger universities, including the renowned University of Maine System. Despite all the variation in size and emphases, those schools listed below share something key in common: they are the best in all of Maine. To cultivate such a definitive list, we first examined the academic reputations of each college and university in the state. From there we pared down to those that retain the most students, as this is often a reflection on student satisfaction. Then, bringing in tuition rates and post-graduation career salaries we were able to determine the best in the state, "best" meaning academically rigorous as well as student-centric, affordable with a great return on investment. Our figures and information come from the university and colleges' websites, PayScale, Maine's Department of Education, and nationally recognized U.S. News & World Report and The National Center for Education Statistics.
Top 10 Best Colleges in Maine
See our rankings methodology page.


