2021 Top Women's D3 Basketball Schools
It's not easy to decide which college to attend when there are so many options available for student athletes. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Colleges for Division III Women's Basketball ranking.
We analyzed 387 colleges and universities across the United States to determine which were the best for D3 Women's Basketball athletes. To come up with this ranking, we look at a number of factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include the school's overall quality as determined by our Best Colleges ranking and the athletic competitiveness of the school. Thus, in order to rank well, the school must offer a quality education in addition to having a great sports team.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
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Top Colleges in the U.S. for D3 Women's Basketball athletes
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
Amherst College tops this year’s ranking as the best school for D3 Women’s Basketball athletes. Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 705 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Amherst brought in $293,685 while tallying up $285,499 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $8,186 in profit.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. On top of its placing in this ranking, Amherst also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 1% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll join some of the best athletes around if you attend Washington University in St Louis. The school came in at #2 in this year’s ranking. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 2,407 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at WUSTL made $465,485 in revenue, while incurring $435,273 in expenses. That boils down to a yearly profit of $30,212 for the sports team.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. WUSTL excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Trinity University. It ranked #3 on our 2021 Best Colleges for D3 Women’s Basketball athletes list. Located in San Antonio, Texas, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 617 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
Speaking financially, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Trinity U took home $257,921 in revenue.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. In addition to its great ranking here, Trinity U is in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePauw University. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best Colleges for D3 Women’s Basketball athletes list. DePauw University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Greencastle, Indiana that handed out 595 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at DePauw brought home $336,758 in revenue in a single year.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. In addition to its great ranking here, DePauw is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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You’ll join some of the best athletes around if you attend Tufts University. The school came in at #5 in this year’s ranking. Located in Medford, Massachusetts, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,822 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
Tufts brought in $257,548 while tallying up $221,566 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $35,982.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Tufts also is in the top 5% of our overall quality ranking.
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With a ranking of #6, University of St Thomas Minnesota did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. UST MN is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 1,561 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at UST MN made $210,965 in revenue.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. UST MN also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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Ohio Northern University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball list. ONU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Ada, Ohio. The school has a small population, and it awarded 415 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at ONU made $268,794 in revenue.
In addition to its great ranking here, ONU is in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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With a ranking of #8, Gustavus Adolphus College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. Located in Saint Peter, Minnesota, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 621 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Speaking financially, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Gustavus Adolphus took home $170,225 in revenue.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. Gustavus Adolphus excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Worcester Polytechnic Institute did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #9. WPI is located in Worcester, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 1,138 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
WPI brought in $281,958 while tallying up $269,119 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $12,839 in profit.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. WPI also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Bowdoin College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Brunswick, Maine, and it awarded 664 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Bowdoin brought in $285,414 while tallying up $239,494 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. Thus, the team actually made $45,920, which isn’t bad at all.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. In addition to its great ranking here, Bowdoin is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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University of Scranton ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball list. University of Scranton is a private not-for-profit institution located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 938 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Speaking financially, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at University of Scranton took home $278,348 in revenue.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. University of Scranton also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #12, Whitman College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. Whitman is located in Walla Walla, Washington and, has a small student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 374 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
The team at Whitman took home $286,165 in revenue and paid out $278,750 in expenses in recent times. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $7,415 in profit.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Whitman excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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University of Puget Sound landed the #13 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Tacoma, Washington, and it awarded 664 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Puget Sound brought home $188,069 in revenue in a single year.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. In addition to its great ranking here, Puget Sound is in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Ithaca College landed the #14 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. Ithaca, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,501 students in 2018-2019.
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Ithaca made $210,821 in revenue.
Ithaca excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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SUNY Geneseo did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #15. This medium-sized public school is located in Geneseo, New York, and it awarded 1,408 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at SUNY Geneseo made $125,164 in revenue.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. On top of its placing in this ranking, SUNY Geneseo also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #16, Wheaton College Illinois did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit school located in Wheaton, Illinois that handed out 720 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Wheaton College Illinois brought home $232,747 in revenue in a single year.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Wheaton College Illinois also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball list. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,333 students in 2018-2019.
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at MIT made $116,979 in revenue.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. MIT also made our overall quality list, coming in at #5.
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Babson College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. Babson College is located in Wellesley, Massachusetts and, has a small student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 548 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Babson College brought home $253,716 in revenue in a single year.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Babson College also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Messiah University landed the #19 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. Messiah University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania that handed out 636 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Messiah brought in $199,291 while tallying up $151,407 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. Thus, the team actually made $47,884, which isn’t bad at all.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. Messiah also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #20. Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,848 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Carnegie Mellon made $217,520 in revenue.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in this ranking, Carnegie Mellon also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Christopher Newport University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #21. Located in Newport News, Virginia, the small public school handed out 1,172 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at CNU made $260,643 in revenue.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. On top of its placing in this ranking, CNU also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Hope College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. Hope College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Holland, Michigan that handed out 838 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Hope brought home $166,005 in revenue in a single year.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. Hope also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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Catholic University of America ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 830 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
CUA brought in $250,727 while tallying up $247,577 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. Thus, the team actually made $3,150, which isn’t bad at all.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. CUA excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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University of Chicago did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #24. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 2,024 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Speaking financially, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at UChicago took home $278,428 in revenue.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. On top of its placing in this ranking, UChicago also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Haverford College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking. Haverford, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 343 students in 2018-2019.
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Haverford brought home $134,397 in revenue in a single year.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. In addition to its great ranking here, Haverford is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Request InformationRest of the Top 50 Best Colleges for D3 Women's Basketball athletes
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Narrow Colleges by Region
Rest of the Top 15% Best Colleges in the United States for International Students
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Ripon College | Ripon, WI |
| 52 | Roger Williams University | Bristol, RI |
| 53 | Trinity College | Hartford, CT |
| 54 | Grinnell College | Grinnell, IA |
| 55 | Stevens Institute of Technology | Hoboken, NJ |
| 56 | Chapman University | Orange, CA |
| 57 | Trine University | Angola, IN |
| 58 | Augustana College | Rock Island, IL |
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 59 | Washington & Jefferson College | Washington, PA |
| 60 | Luther College | Decorah, IA |
| 61 | University of Mary Washington | Fredericksburg, VA |
| 62 | Colby College | Waterville, ME |
| 63 | Union College New York | Schenectady, NY |
| 64 | University of New England | Biddeford, ME |
| 65 | Austin College | Sherman, TX |
| 66 | Moravian College | Bethlehem, PA |
| 67 | University of Minnesota - Morris | Morris, MN |
| 68 | SUNY New Paltz | New Paltz, NY |
| 69 | Vassar College | Poughkeepsie, NY |
| 70 | University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh | Oshkosh, WI |
| 71 | Hendrix College | Conway, AR |
| 72 | Lewis & Clark College | Portland, OR |
| 73 | Washington and Lee University | Lexington, VA |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 74 | Brandeis University | Waltham, MA |
| 75 | Western New England University | Springfield, MA |
| 76 | Hamilton College | Clinton, NY |
| 77 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy, NY |
| 78 | Albion College | Albion, MI |
More Nationwide Rankings
Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Revenue and expense information comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) website.
- The academic progress rate (APR) of each team was made available by the NCAA.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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