The South sometimes gets a bad rep. But the south has a lot going for it. Great weather, delicious food, and some really excellent colleges and universities. We often work with students who love the idea of studying in the south but don’t really know where to start. There are a lot of great universities below the Mason Dickson and we thought we would break down our top 10.  

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Often just called “Chapel Hill,” UNC-Chapel Hill is one of, if not the oldest, public universities in America. Located in the Town of Chapel Hill, a suburb of Durham NC, the university houses around 20k undergrads and has about a 22% acceptance rate. Chapel Hill is known for great research opportunities, great sports, and 14 academic schools with a wide range of programs.

Duke University

Duke is a private university in Durham, NC. Duke has about 7k undergrads and recently their acceptance rate has been breakneck at around 6%. They have great academics and have popular majors in Computer Science, Public Policy Analysis, and Biology. They offer undergraduate research opportunities for all majors through a wide range of programs.

University of Virginia

UVA is a public university in Charlottesville, Virginia. UVA houses about 17K undergrads on its historic campus. While most schools say they have a “historic campus,” UVA isn’t playing. Seriously, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site. Their acceptance rate is usually just about 20%. UVA has great research opportunities and popular academic tracks in Economics, Biology, Business, International Relations, and Psychology.

Rice

William Marsh Rice University, usually just called Rice, is a private research university in the museum district of Houston, TX. Rice is most famous for its applied science programs but offers a wide range of majors. Rice is on the smaller side of this list with about 4k undergraduates. They have around an 8% acceptance rate, making it highly selective.

The Georgia Institute of Technology

Often called just Georgia Tech, this university isn’t for everyone. While they have a couple of majors outside of the tech space, this is really a math and science school. Located in the heart of Atlanta, GA, Georgia Tech is a public research university and institute of technology. If you love math and science, Tech offers world-class programs and research opportunities in engineering, science, and tech. The school is big with about 40k undergrads and a competitive acceptance rate of about 17%.

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. The school hosts programs in liberal arts and sciences, engineering, music, education, and human development. They have great research and also great financial aid. They also have great sports and a popular 5 year Masters's program. Vanderbilt has about 7k undergrads. The school is competitive to get into, leading some to call it the “Southern Ivy” though it is not in the Ivy League. Their acceptance rate is around 7% but can get as low as 4.7% in regular decision, so it’s best to apply during their ED 1 or 2 rounds.

Emory

Emory University is a private research institution in the Altana suburbs. Emory has a competitive acceptance rate of about 16%. The school has an outstanding liberal arts program. Emory has a unique academic flow. They break their around 7k undergraduate population into two campuses for their first two years, Oxford and Emory. After two years, the students rejoin at Emory’s main campus and work towards degrees in the liberal arts, business, or nursing.

UT Austin

The University of Texas at Austin, often called UT Austin, is a public research university in you guessed it, Austin TX. UT Austin is a very large school with about 41k undergrads. UT Austin has about a 31% acceptance rate, however, given that they take in-state students at a higher rate, it is lower for those outside of the Lone Star State. UT Austin has many high-ranking programs and also houses a popular undergrad business school.

Tulane

Tulane has become increasingly popular recently. Honestly, 10 years ago, we might not have included them on this list. However, it’s a school that the students we work with love. Maybe it has to do with being able to go to school in New Orleans… but more likely it has to do with its impressive research opportunities and engineering and business schools. With about 8k undergrads, the school has longstanding campus-wide traditions and opportunities to volunteer in the greater NOLA community. Their acceptance rate has hit record lows in recent years and is about 8% currently.

Washington and Lee

We had to include a liberal arts school on the list. The South has several prestigious liberal arts schools. This list could have easily listed Davidson or The University of Richmond as well, but we only had 10 spots. Washington and Lee has around 2k undergrads and about a 17% acceptance rate. Their campus is nestled in the mountains near Lexington, Virginia. If you are looking for a small school in the south, they are a great choice. They have independent research opportunities for undergrads and a commitment to small, personalized classes.  

This is just a jumping-off point. There are so many wonderful academic institutions in the American South. Especially if you count DC, Maryland, and Florida… which we won’t start that argument here. If you need help building a college list that fits your needs, we would love to help. Finding your dream school takes work and a little bit of research. So you get on ‘t, ya hear!?

Don’t know where to start? We can help! Contact us here.