Best Colleges in North Carolina (2026)

How this list is ranked

The strongest colleges and universities in North Carolina, ranked by graduation rate and selectivity, with verified acceptance rates, net price, and test scores for this admissions cycle.

Schools on this list 40

Source Federal data, same records as every school page

Admit rate, net price, and SAT in the table are for context. Rank order follows the method above, not those columns.

Rank	School	Admit	Net price	SAT
1	Duke University Durham, NC	5.7%	$29,612	1500-1570	See record
2	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	15.3%	$11,655	1390-1530	See record
3	Carolinas College of Health Sciences Charlotte, NC	60%	-	950-1380	See record
4	Davidson College Davidson, NC	13.4%	$17,379	1400-1530	See record
5	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	22%	$28,719	1410-1520	See record
6	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	42%	$17,303	1300-1470	See record
7	Elon University Elon, NC	66%	$41,555	1130-1280	See record
8	Manna University Fayetteville, NC	53%	$15,210	-	See record
9	University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC	30%	$14,906	1140-1370	See record
10	Appalachian State University Boone, NC	90%	$16,836	1120-1280	See record
11	High Point University High Point, NC	75%	$38,707	1110-1320	See record
12	Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Concord, NC	23%	$17,618	1150	See record
13	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC	64%	$20,109	1230-1340	See record
14	Meredith College Raleigh, NC	74%	$22,488	1098-1348	See record
15	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC	80%	$15,435	1140-1330	See record
16	East Carolina University Greenville, NC	89%	$15,739	1070-1240	See record
17	Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte, NC	62%	$30,857	1140-1340	See record
18	Campbell University Buies Creek, NC	87%	$24,516	-	See record
19	Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC	82%	$13,315	1080-1270	See record
20	Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC	75%	$13,090	1000-1250	See record
21	Salem College Winston-Salem, NC	77%	$18,277	1066-1243	See record
22	North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC	50%	$10,846	1020-1190	See record
23	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC	89%	$10,965	1150-1355	See record
24	Gardner-Webb University Boiling Springs, NC	77%	$17,674	975-1198	See record
25	University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC	92%	$12,250	1170-1360	See record
26	University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC	76%	$18,853	1050	See record
27	Montreat College Montreat, NC	69%	$27,061	-	See record
28	Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte Charlotte, NC	80%	$27,426	880-1130	See record
29	Brevard College Brevard, NC	42%	$23,509	870-1220	See record
30	Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory, NC	85%	$20,689	-	See record
31	Catawba College Salisbury, NC	75%	$17,879	1030-1300	See record
32	Belmont Abbey College Belmont, NC	75%	$24,639	960-1200	See record
33	Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC	78%	$13,479	830-1020	See record
34	Wingate University Wingate, NC	91%	$20,748	1010-1210	See record
35	Greensboro College Greensboro, NC	70%	$17,882	-	See record
36	Guilford College Greensboro, NC	80%	$22,270	1120-1260	See record
37	Barton College Wilson, NC	94%	$23,626	-	See record
38	Mars Hill University Mars Hill, NC	68%	$19,910	-	See record
39	William Peace University Raleigh, NC	94%	$21,649	1080-1225	See record
40	Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC	64%	$6,364	920-1080	See record