Best Southern Colleges
There are 359 ranked four-year colleges in the South, evaluated with the same methodology used for our national rankings. Only nonprofit, selective four-year schools are included.
Leading our 2027 rankings is Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, topping our list in the South. The top rated public university is University of Virginia Main Campus. Also highly ranked: Rice University, Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University.
Compare tuition, acceptance rates, and enrollment across the colleges below. See how rankings are calculated on our methodology page. Explore the regional list below or browse individual states.
Duke University
- Private 4 Year
- Durham, NC
-
5.0 | 6 reviews
- Jan 3 application deadline
Duke is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate public policy, biomedical engineering, and economics. The residential campus in Durham centers on Collegiate Gothic quads and a separate East Campus for first-year housing.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.94
- Acceptance Rate 6%
- Net Price $21,981
Rice University
- Private 4 Year
- Houston, TX
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Rice is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, architecture, and the natural sciences. Most undergraduates live in residential colleges that organize dining and social life on the urban Houston campus.
- SAT Range 1510-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.96
- Acceptance Rate 8%
- Net Price $23,589
Johns Hopkins University
- Private 4 Year
- Baltimore, MD
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 3 application deadline
Johns Hopkins is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate biomedical engineering, public health, and international studies. Most undergraduates study on the Homewood campus in north Baltimore.
- SAT Range 1520-1570
- Avg GPA 3.92
- Acceptance Rate 6%
- Net Price $26,017
Vanderbilt University
- Private 4 Year
- Nashville, TN
-
5.0 | 5 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Vanderbilt is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate education, music, and the sciences. The tree-lined urban campus is a designated arboretum in the heart of Nashville.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Avg GPA 3.89
- Acceptance Rate 6%
- Net Price $25,186
Emory University
- Private 4 Year
- Atlanta, GA
-
4.8 | 5 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Emory is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and the biological sciences. The wooded campus sits in Atlanta's Druid Hills neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1470-1550
- Avg GPA 3.8
- Acceptance Rate 11%
- Net Price $27,303
Washington and Lee University
- Private 4 Year
- Lexington, VA
-
4.3 | 3 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Washington and Lee is a highly selective private liberal arts university known for undergraduate business, journalism, and politics. Most undergrads live under a strict student-run honor system on the historic campus in Lexington.
- SAT Range 1430-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.87
- Acceptance Rate 14%
- Net Price $23,055
Davidson College
- Private 4 Year
- Davidson, NC
-
4.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 7 application deadline
Davidson is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, political science, and the sciences. An honor code shapes unproctored exams and student self-governance on the residential campus near Charlotte.
- SAT Range 1400-1530
- Avg GPA 3.81
- Acceptance Rate 13%
- Net Price $27,720
University of Richmond
- Private 4 Year
- University of Richmond, VA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
University of Richmond is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate business and leadership studies. The suburban Collegiate Gothic campus sits in Richmond's West End.
- SAT Range 1410-1530
- Avg GPA 3.71
- Acceptance Rate 22%
- Net Price $30,037
Wake Forest University
- Private 4 Year
- Winston-Salem, NC
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Wake Forest is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate business and the liberal arts. Most undergraduates live on the residential campus in Winston-Salem.
- SAT Range 1410-1520
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 22%
- Net Price $24,401
University of Miami
- Private 4 Year
- Coral Gables, FL
-
4.0 | 14 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
University of Miami is a private university known for undergraduate marine science, business, and communications. The Coral Gables campus has Mediterranean-style buildings set among lakes and tropical landscaping.
- SAT Range 1320-1480
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 19%
- Net Price $45,397
University of Virginia Main Campus
- Public 4 Year
- Charlottesville, VA
-
| 0 reviews
UVA is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate commerce, government, and architecture. The historic campus in Charlottesville centers on Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village.
- SAT Range 1410-1540
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
- Acceptance Rate 17%
- Net Price $18,427
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Public 4 Year
- Chapel Hill, NC
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
UNC-Chapel Hill is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate journalism, business, and public health. Chapel Hill is a classic college town built around the historic campus.
- SAT Range 1390-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.83
- Acceptance Rate 15%
- Net Price $10,154
William & Mary
- Public 4 Year
- Williamsburg, VA
-
5.0 | 4 reviews
- Jan 2 application deadline
William & Mary is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate history, government, and international relations. The historic campus adjoins Colonial Williamsburg in a small college town.
- SAT Range 1400-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
- Acceptance Rate 34%
- Net Price $19,686
Trinity University
- Private 4 Year
- San Antonio, TX
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Trinity is a private university known for undergraduate business, communication, and the sciences. Most students live on a residential hilltop campus overlooking downtown San Antonio.
- SAT Range 1340-1500
- Avg GPA 3.68
- Acceptance Rate 26%
- Net Price $32,224
Southern Methodist University
- Private 4 Year
- Dallas, TX
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
SMU is a private university known for undergraduate business and the performing arts. The campus occupies University Park, a residential enclave within Dallas.
- SAT Range 1340-1490
- Avg GPA 3.68
- Acceptance Rate 63%
- Net Price $48,179
University of Florida
- Public 4 Year
- Gainesville, FL
-
4.5 | 6 reviews
- Mar 1 application deadline
UF is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate business, engineering, and journalism. The large campus anchors the college town of Gainesville.
- SAT Range 1320-1480
- Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 24%
- Net Price $11,936
University of Maryland College Park
- Public 4 Year
- College Park, MD
-
4.8 | 6 reviews
UMD is a large public university known for undergraduate computer science, engineering, and journalism. The College Park campus sits just outside Washington, D.C.
- SAT Range 1400-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.84
- Acceptance Rate 45%
- Net Price $16,581
The University of the South
- Private 4 Year
- Sewanee, TN
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Sewanee is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate English, creative writing, and environmental studies. The campus occupies a 13,000-acre domain on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau.
- SAT Range 1260-1390
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 57%
- Net Price $34,815