Best Southeastern Colleges

There are 836 colleges and universities in the Southeast enrolling 4,959,702 students. Explore the list of top colleges in the Southeast below to begin your college search. The CollegeSimply rankings are objective and data-driven in order to help you find good matches for you. Learn how the Best Colleges rankings are calculated on our ranking methodology page. Whether you're searching for a good public, private or community college, this guide to universities in Southeast offers a comprehensive view to the state's higher education options.

The  Southeast is home to nationally ranked institutions like Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Vanderbilt University and Emory University. The highest ranked college in the Southeast is Duke University and the top rated public state college is University of Virginia Main Campus.

836 Results
Sort:
Southeast Public Private For-Profit 4 Year 2 Year

List of the Best Southeast Colleges

  • 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.

#1 Best Colleges in the Southeast 10/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1500-1570
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.94
  • Acceptance Rate 6%
  • Net Price $21,981
Details

  • 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.

#2 Best Colleges in the Southeast 10/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1520-1570
  • Avg GPA 3.92
  • Acceptance Rate 6%
  • Net Price $26,017
Details

  • 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.

#3 Best Colleges in the Southeast 10/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1500-1570
  • Avg GPA 3.89
  • Acceptance Rate 6%
  • Net Price $25,186
Details

  • 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.

#4 Best Colleges in the Southeast 10/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1470-1550
  • Avg GPA 3.8
  • Acceptance Rate 11%
  • Net Price $27,303
Details

  • 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.

#5 Best Colleges in the Southeast 10/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1430-1540
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.87
  • Acceptance Rate 14%
  • Net Price $23,055
Details

  • 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.

#6 Best Colleges in the Southeast 10/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1400-1530
  • Avg GPA 3.81
  • Acceptance Rate 13%
  • Net Price $27,720
Details

  • 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.

#7 Best Colleges in the Southeast 10/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1410-1530
  • Avg GPA 3.71
  • Acceptance Rate 22%
  • Net Price $30,037
Details

  • 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.

#8 Best Colleges in the Southeast 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1410-1520
  • Avg GPA NA
  • Acceptance Rate 22%
  • Net Price $24,401
Details

  • 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.

#9 Best Colleges in the Southeast 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1320-1480
  • Avg GPA 3.7
  • Acceptance Rate 19%
  • Net Price $45,397
Details

  • 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.

#10 Best Colleges in the Southeast 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1410-1540
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
  • Acceptance Rate 17%
  • Net Price $18,427
Details

  • 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.

#11 Best Colleges in the Southeast 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1390-1530
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.83
  • Acceptance Rate 15%
  • Net Price $10,154
Details

  • 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.

#12 Best Colleges in the Southeast 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1400-1530
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
  • Acceptance Rate 34%
  • Net Price $19,686
Details

  • 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.

#13 Best Colleges in the Southeast 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1320-1480
  • Avg GPA 3.9
  • Acceptance Rate 24%
  • Net Price $11,936
Details

  • 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.

#14 Best Colleges in the Southeast 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1400-1530
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.84
  • Acceptance Rate 45%
  • Net Price $16,581
Details

  • 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.

#15 Best Colleges in the Southeast 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1260-1390
  • Avg GPA NA
  • Acceptance Rate 57%
  • Net Price $34,815
Details

  • Private 4 Year
  • Greenville, SC
  • | 0 reviews
  • Jan 15 application deadline

Furman is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate biology, political science, and business. The residential campus centers on a lake just outside Greenville.

#16 Best Colleges in the Southeast 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1260-1430
  • Avg GPA 3.61
  • Acceptance Rate 43%
  • Net Price $34,086
Details

  • Private 4 Year
  • Memphis, TN
  • 4.5 | 2 reviews
  • Jan 15 application deadline

Rhodes is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology and international studies. The collegiate Gothic campus sits in a wooded residential section of Memphis.

#17 Best Colleges in the Southeast 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1300-1486
  • Avg GPA 3.99
  • Acceptance Rate 50%
  • Net Price $31,037
Details

  • Public 4 Year
  • Lexington, VA
  • 5.0 | 2 reviews
  • Feb 1 application deadline

VMI is a public military college known for undergraduate engineering and the sciences. All students join the Corps of Cadets and live in barracks under a military regimen on the historic Lexington campus.

#18 Best Colleges in the Southeast 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1050-1270
  • Avg GPA 3.65
  • Acceptance Rate 71%
  • Net Price $18,825
Details