Learn about some of the top-ranked private and public colleges in the Southeast. Use this article to help learn about their student population, net price and highest graduation rate according to the National Center for Education Standards.
Highly Ranked Schools in Southeast
Students interested in earning a degree or certificate in the Southeast have hundreds of school options to choose from in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas. These include both public and private colleges, universities, seminaries and other postsecondary institutions. This article highlights five of the region's best ranked schools.
- University of South Carolina in Aiken, SC (regional colleges south, #17)
- University of South Carolina - Upstate in Spartanburg, SC (regional colleges south, #15)
- Maryville College, TN (regional colleges south, #5)
- Flagler College, FL (regional colleges south, #4)
- Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL (regional colleges south, #13)
Largest Schools in Southeast
The school with the highest student population is Liberty University, a 4-year school in Lynchburg, Virginia. This school enrolled 94,709 students during the 2021-22 school year, and 47,696 were undergraduates. Other larger schools include:
- University of Georgia (40,118)
- Miami Dade College (44,002)
- University of Central Florida (70,310)
- Florida International University (56,664)
- Northern Virginia Community College (49,560)
Lowest Net Price
The following five schools had among the lowest net prices for undergrads in the 2020-2021 academic year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). These figures are based on subtracting an average amount of financial aid from an institution's total cost of attendance. That latter number takes into account undergraduate tuition rates and fees, along with educational costs like textbooks, supplies and housing.
- Coahoma Community College ($1,454)
- Central Georgia Technical College ($3,139)
- Eastern Florida State College ($4,775)
- Chattahoochee Technical College ($4,049)
- Eastern Florida State College ($4,775)
Highest Graduation Rate
The graduation rates reported by the NCES are based on students who entered undergraduate programs in the fall of 2015 and completed them within 150% of normal time. These stats can help prospective students gauge the academic quality of their school options. Institutions like Vanderbilt University in Nashville and the University of North Carolina plus the schools listed below have the highest graduation rates among those profiled.
- Duke University in Durham, NC, private/nonprofit, 96%
- Davidson College in Davidson, NC, private/nonprofit, 90%
- Emory University, Atlanta, GA, private/nonprofit, 90%
- Clemson University, Clemson, SC, public, 85%
- Auburn University, Auburn, AL, public, 82%
Students seeking an education at a top college in the Southeast have a myriad of choices to meet affordability and population preferences.
