by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. Our ranking highlights 152 colleges for Women’s Lacrosse by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
So you can compare your options, College Factual scores each program on a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and aid per athlete from the EADA survey), and overall school quality, drawing on NCAA, U.S. Department of Education EADA, and IPEDS data. Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Here are the top-ranked colleges for student athletes:
Swarthmore College tops our 2026 ranking of the best colleges for Women's Lacrosse. Swarthmore College is a private not-for-profit school based in Swarthmore, PA. Team revenue averages $12,278 per participant, with expenses of about $11,975 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Hamilton College came in at #2 on this year's ranking for Women's Lacrosse. This private not-for-profit school is set in Clinton, NY. Team revenue averages $9,546 per participant, with expenses of about $9,546 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Franklin and Marshall College came in at #3 on this year's ranking for Women's Lacrosse. Located in Lancaster, PA, Franklin and Marshall College is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $10,009 in revenue per athlete, against $12,292 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $53 per athlete.
Stevens Institute of Technology came in at #4 on this year's ranking for Women's Lacrosse. Based in Hoboken, NJ, Stevens Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $7,964, with expenses of about $7,964 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Vassar College earned the #5 place for student athletes. Vassar College is a private not-for-profit school based in Poughkeepsie, NY. Team revenue averages $8,540 per participant, against $8,540 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
University of Maryland-College Park ranked #6 on our 2026 list for Women's Lacrosse. Located in College Park, MD, University of Maryland-College Park is a public institution. University of Maryland-College Park records an NCAA APR of 1000, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 91%. The program generates about $17,222 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $63,584 per participant. The school awards about $30,606 in athletic aid per athlete.
Villanova University ranked #7 on our 2026 list for Women's Lacrosse. This private not-for-profit school is set in Villanova, PA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 999, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. About 87% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $41,124 in revenue per athlete, compared with $41,124 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $25,480 per athlete.
The College of New Jersey came in at #8 in this year's ranking. The College of New Jersey is a public school based in Ewing, NJ. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $6,632, against $6,632 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Johns Hopkins University ranked #9 on our 2026 list for Women's Lacrosse. Based in Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins University is a private not-for-profit institution. Johns Hopkins University records an NCAA APR of 997. About 87% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $54,524, with expenses of about $54,524 per participant. Athletic aid averages $2,612 per athlete.
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus came in at #10 in this year's ranking. University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus is a public school based in Pittsburgh, PA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 993. Team revenue averages $51,943 per participant, against $51,943 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $30,613 per athlete.
Lafayette College placed #11 among the best colleges for Women's Lacrosse. Located in Easton, PA, Lafayette College is a private not-for-profit institution. Lafayette College records an NCAA APR of 1000, alongside a GSR of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 94%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $40,570, with expenses of about $40,570 per participant. Athletic aid averages $18,987 per athlete.
Georgetown University did well this year, earning the #12 position. Based in Washington, DC, Georgetown University is a private not-for-profit institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 998, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 96%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $57,384, compared with $57,384 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $14,232 per athlete.
Lehigh University ranked #13 on our 2026 list for Women's Lacrosse. Lehigh University is a private not-for-profit school based in Bethlehem, PA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1000, alongside a GSR of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 93%. The program generates about $41,805 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $41,805 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $19,391.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick placed #14 among the best colleges for Women's Lacrosse. Located in New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers University-New Brunswick is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1000, alongside a GSR of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 85%. The program generates about $63,348 in revenue per athlete, against $63,348 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $26,379.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute placed #15 among the best colleges for Women's Lacrosse. This private not-for-profit school is set in Troy, NY. Team revenue averages $7,527 per participant, against $6,810 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $3,263.
Union College ranked #16 on our 2026 list for Women's Lacrosse. Based in Schenectady, NY, Union College is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $7,293 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $6,637 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $2,499.
Gettysburg College placed #17 among the best colleges for Women's Lacrosse. This private not-for-profit school is set in Gettysburg, PA. Team revenue averages $8,144 per participant, with expenses of about $8,144 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Haverford College placed #18 among the best colleges for Women's Lacrosse. This private not-for-profit school is set in Haverford, PA. The program generates about $6,254 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $6,244 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Drexel University landed the #19 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in Philadelphia, PA. The team's NCAA APR score is 1000, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 77%. Team revenue averages $45,796 per participant, with expenses of about $45,796 per participant. Athletic aid averages $25,843 per athlete.
Loyola University Maryland came in at #20 in this year's ranking. Loyola University Maryland is a private not-for-profit school based in Baltimore, MD. The team's NCAA APR score is 1000, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 91%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $55,137, compared with $55,137 spent per athlete. The school awards about $14,638 in athletic aid per athlete.
George Washington University came in at #21 in this year's ranking. George Washington University is a private not-for-profit school based in Washington, DC. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 1000, alongside a GSR of 96%. The federal graduation rate stands at 74%. Team revenue averages $40,983 per participant, compared with $40,983 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $29,880 per athlete.
Elizabethtown College did well this year, earning the #22 position. Located in Elizabethtown, PA, Elizabethtown College is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $8,172 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $8,172 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of Rochester did well this year, earning the #23 position. Based in Rochester, NY, University of Rochester is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $5,737 per participant, with expenses of about $5,699 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Temple University did well this year, earning the #24 position. Temple University is a public school based in Philadelphia, PA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 995, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 97%. The program generates about $51,243 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $51,243 per participant. The school awards about $28,567 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of Delaware ranked #25 on our 2026 list for Women's Lacrosse. This public school is set in Newark, DE. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 997, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 94%. The program generates about $33,954 in revenue per athlete, against $33,954 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $24,002.
These programs also stood out among the best this year:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology weighs a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and athletic aid from the federal EADA survey), and overall school quality. The current methodology measures academic-athletic quality and does not include team win/loss performance.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.