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There may be no state as well acquainted with the benefits of small colleges and universities than the state of Maine. It is home to a number of such options that are not just high-quality, they are positively world-class. Take the trio of Bates College, Colby College, and Bowdoin College. Together they offer some of the best liberal arts options that you’ll find anywhere. All three place extremely high in all sorts of rankings, are extremely selective, and boast students who come from all over the nation and the world. All three also represent a surprisingly good value as well and their graduates can expect to gain entry into a top-ranked graduate school or to have extremely good career prospects from the get-go. But those schools do not have a monopoly, as a college such as Unity College offers an environmental focus that may not be found anywhere else. If you can’t find the liberal arts college for you in Maine, you’re probably not looking hard enough.

Bates College is one of the highest ranked liberal arts colleges in the nation, consistently ranking amongst the top 25 liberal arts schools for the past 20 years according to U.S. News and World Report, and placing at the very top in the “Best Value College” category in 2005 according to Princeton Review. Located in Lewiston and having a student body of only around 1,800 undergraduates, it boasts a surprisingly diverse population, with students coming from 46 states and districts, and 70 foreign countries, and one of the highest retention rates for a liberal arts college in the nation. It operates on a 4-4-1 schedule, which means it has two 4 month semesters and a month-long term. Its most popular majors are politics, psychology, economics, biology, English, and history. Many of its students complete coursework off-campus and participate in study abroad programs. It is widely considered to have a particularly respected and competitive Department of Economics, with its faculty often cited in cutting-edge research. Every student at the college gets the chance to work with faculty on a one-on-one basis through independent study, senior thesis, and research. Bates College graduates have the distinction of being consistently accepted and placed into some of the best law schools in the nation.

Yet another high quality liberal arts offering in Maine, Colby College consistently places in the top 25 for liberal arts colleges in the nation according to such reputable publications as U.S. News and World Report and Forbes. It is sometimes considered to be a “little Ivy” because of the prestige it has and the quality of its academic offerings. Located in Waterville and having a student body of around 1,800 undergraduates, its students come from almost every state and represent nearly 60 countries, making it an international campus of sorts. It has even been honored as such with the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization. The school emphasizes project-based learning and many of its students participate in community outreach and study abroad programs. Although it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the nation, it has recently completed several notable construction projects, including the new social sciences and interdisciplinary studies Diamond Building. The school also gives students access to Colby Outdoor Orientation Trips, which were designed to ease a new student’s transition into college and expose them to Maine’s beautiful nature resources.

Bowdoin College is a private, prestigious and well-regarded liberal arts college located in Brunswick that consistently places highly in academic rankings, recently placing sixth among liberal arts colleges in 2010 according to U.S. News and World Report. The school has a student body of around 1,700 and an acceptance rate that hovers around only 18.5%, making it one of the most selective colleges in the country. The most popular major was Government and Legal Studies between 2000 and 2009, and its political science program is one of the most well respected in the nation and in the world. The school boasts an excellent student-faculty ratio of only 9 to 1, and it operates a coastal studies center on Orrs Island in Harpswell, as well as a 200 acre scientific field station on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy. A high percentage of its graduates go on to top-5 ranked graduate programs in business, law, and medicine.

Unity College is a small private, liberal arts college located in the city of Unity that has a student body of only around 497. All of its undergraduate programs focus on the environment or the study of natural resources. Despite its small size and somewhat narrow emphasis, it was ranked as one of “America’s Best Colleges” in 2007 by U.S. News and World Report. The school is known to support a hands-on and outdoor study approach to learning, and it is often a gateway to outdoor careers for its students. The college is a leader in sustainability, with many of its buildings having low or zero carbon emissions and its students required to to take a course on sustainability.