Trinity College

Private · Selective · CT

Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationCT · Northeast

SettingUrban

Undergrads2,146

Student:faculty9:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate77.9%

6-yr grad rate83.8%

Drop-out rate10%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$71k

Out-of-state tuition$71k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity41.3%

Gender diversity53.2%

International13.8%

Identity—

Overview

Trinity College is a liberal arts college on a gothic campus in Hartford, Connecticut's capital, notable as one of the few liberal arts schools offering an accredited engineering degree alongside its traditional arts and sciences programs. Its location inside a mid-sized capital city, rather than a rural town or suburban edge, shapes the college's identity as much as its academics do, giving Trinity a more urban-facing character than most of its small liberal arts peers.

Academics

Engineering sits alongside strong programs in the humanities, economics, and political science, an unusual combination for a small liberal arts college to offer under one roof. Hartford's insurance, government, and nonprofit sectors supply internship opportunities that most rural liberal arts colleges simply can't match, and Trinity leans into its urban setting through coursework and community-based learning tied to the city itself. Class sizes stay small and discussion-based, consistent with the liberal arts model, even within the engineering program.

Campus & student life

The Long Walk's brownstone architecture is among the oldest collegiate gothic in America, giving the campus a historic, formal look that stands out even among gothic-styled peer campuses. The squash program is a perennial national power with a legendary long win streak in its history, and the urban Hartford setting shapes a more city-connected student experience than many peer schools, with students moving in and out of the surrounding neighborhoods rather than staying purely on a self-contained quad.

Getting in

Admissions is holistic, and the school's urban location and engineering option give it a slightly different applicant pool than typical rural liberal arts peers — students drawn to city life or technical coursework alongside a liberal arts core find a genuine fit here. Interest in city-based internships or the engineering program, expressed concretely in an essay, can be a real differentiator in an application.

After graduation

Hartford's corporate and nonprofit sector connections translate into strong internship-to-job pipelines, particularly in insurance, finance, and public policy fields, giving Trinity graduates a head start on regional networking that peer schools without a city location have to build from scratch.

Worth knowing

The accredited engineering degree within a liberal arts setting, the strength and history of the squash program, and the genuinely urban Hartford location are distinctive features worth knowing about relative to other small New England liberal arts colleges, most of which sit in small towns rather than a capital city.

trincoll.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate29.2%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1298–1470 · ACT 30–34

Test policyoptional

Rec letters1

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early decisionNov 15

Regular decisionJan 15

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App.

Early decision IIJan 15

Early Decision I and II are binding plans requiring a signed statement committing to enroll if admitted; Regular Decision applicants may convert to Early Decision II by February 1.

Interviews: Interviews are not required for admission but are strongly recommended.

Supplemental essays (1)

The identities you claim, the challenges you face, and the successes you enjoy shape the background for your college experience to come. What is an aspect of your background that you are excited to share and/or explore as a member of the Trinity community and why?
300 words · Optional · Optional; fewer than 300 words, submitted in addition to the Common App essay.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗