Best Colleges in Virginia (2026)

How this list is ranked

The strongest colleges and universities in Virginia, 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	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	16.8%	$21,565	1410-1540	See record
2	Riverside College of Health Careers Newport News, VA	12.9%	$20,744	-	See record
3	Chamberlain University-Virginia Vienna, VA	90%	$33,199	-	See record
4	Ascent College Gainesville, VA	-	-	-	See record
5	Centra College Lynchburg, VA	100%	-	-	See record
6	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	14.0%	$23,781	1430-1540	See record
7	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	34%	$19,096	1400-1530	See record
8	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	55%	$24,953	1280-1450	See record
9	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA	22%	$31,309	1410-1530	See record
10	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	72%	$23,322	1170-1340	See record
11	Centura College-Chesapeake Chesapeake, VA	-	$26,988	-	See record
12	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	71%	$17,113	1050-1270	See record
13	Patrick Henry College Purcellville, VA	77%	-	1240-1420	See record
14	Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA	86%	$23,015	1060-1290	See record
15	Randolph-Macon College Ashland, VA	87%	$27,866	980-1220	See record
16	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	87%	$17,915	1160-1360	See record
17	Roanoke College Salem, VA	83%	$24,503	1090-1300	See record
18	Eastern Mennonite University Harrisonburg, VA	100%	$24,588	-	See record
19	Washington University of Science and Technology Alexandria, VA	7.3%	-	-	See record
20	Shenandoah University Winchester, VA	77%	$30,298	-	See record
21	University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA	80%	$20,667	1170-1370	See record
22	Liberty University Lynchburg, VA	99%	$29,357	-	See record
23	Hollins University Roanoke, VA	68%	$20,896	1150-1340	See record
24	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA	93%	$23,433	1010-1270	See record
25	Hampden-Sydney College Hampden-Sydney, VA	41%	$22,400	1030-1250	See record
26	Longwood University Farmville, VA	90%	$19,066	1030-1210	See record
27	University of Lynchburg Lynchburg, VA	43%	$22,235	980-1230	See record
28	Hampton University Hampton, VA	62%	$25,319	790-1090	See record
29	Regent University Virginia Beach, VA	38%	$19,923	990-1250	See record
30	Emory & Henry University Emory, VA	84%	$19,061	1051-1223	See record
31	Marymount University Arlington, VA	93%	$29,137	-	See record
32	Bridgewater College Bridgewater, VA	92%	$17,800	1020-1360	See record
33	Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar, VA	76%	$17,758	1100-1310	See record
34	University of the Potomac-VA Campus FALLS CHURCH, VA	-	-	-	See record
35	Radford University Radford, VA	90%	$14,578	940-1160	See record
36	Averett University Danville, VA	57%	$22,925	926-1143	See record
37	University of Virginia's College at Wise Wise, VA	29%	$9,210	945-1120	See record
38	Randolph College Lynchburg, VA	94%	$15,921	1100-1210	See record
39	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA	90%	$14,638	1100-1280	See record
40	ECPI University Virginia Beach, VA	75%	$22,965	-	See record