So, you're thinking about attending a college or university in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts, bordered on the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Connecticut and Rhode Island, and on the west by New York, is the most populous of the six New England states. The first Europeans to settle New England landed in what is today the state of Massachusetts.

The western side of Massachusetts is generally more rural and sparsely populated. This is especially true in the Berkshires, a branch of the Appalachian Mountains that dominates the western quarter of the state. In the east, however, much of the land is densely populated and mostly suburban.

The climate in Massachusetts generally provides it with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Being bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, it receives a fairly substantial amount of precipitation throughout the year. Summers in Massachusetts have average highs of above 80°F and lows of above 60°F. Winters are cold, though, generally, along the coast, the temperatures remain above freezing while further inland it becomes much colder.

The state of Massachusetts has its share of extreme weather. It is especially prone to severe winter storms. Summers can bring thunderstorms to the area. The state averages around 30 days of thunderstorms annually, as well as the occasional tornado. Massachusetts is also, historically, more vulnerable to hurricanes than many states further south. Since 1851, it has been hit by major hurricanes three times, which is the same number as the state of Georgia. Most often, however, hurricanes that hit the state are in a weakened state before reaching Massachusetts.

While many native Massachusetts residents have left the state in recent years, the population as of 2006 is still estimated at 6,437,193. This is due in part to the large number of Asian, Hispanic, and African immigrants that continuously move in to take the places left by the natives. In 2004, the state population included 881,400 foreign-born residents.

In recent times, Massachusetts has proven to be a politically liberal state. The voters here regularly support Democratic candidates in federal elections and is, in fact, the most populous state to have an all-Democratic Congressional delegation. Although the governorship of Massachusetts has been held by Republicans continuously from 1991-2007, these have been among the most progressive Republican leaders in the nation.

The residents of Massachusetts are mostly Christian. 79% claim this as their religion with Roman Catholics having the majority with 47% and Protestants following with 31%. Along with these religions, 2% of the population say they are Jewish, 1% are Unitarian, 1% claim various other religious beliefs, and 17% identify themselves as non-religious.

While Massachusetts levies a flat-rate personal income tax at the rate of 5.3%, there is an exemption for income below a certain threshold. This threshold varies from year to year. The state sales tax is set at 5%. This tax does not apply to groceries, clothing, and periodicals, however.

There are many colleges and universities to select from in the state of Massachusetts. These include such educational institutions as:

• Harvard University

• The University of Massachusetts

• Cambridge College

To find more information about universities and colleges in this area, visit the Online College Degrees page on this website.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Massachusetts".

Free College Planning Resources