Here are the most affordable colleges and universities in Georgia. Our list will help you find the right kind of school for you, at a price you can afford.
Georgia has 70 colleges and universities, 38 of which are public institutions. The University of Georgia, located in the city of Athens, is the largest, with over 35,000 students. Those attending Georgia State University and Georgia Southern University will enter into a friendly athletics rivalry. Tuition at Georgia State costs $9,000, and at Georgia Southern, $6,000. Of the 20 religiously affiliated schools, Emory University has both the highest tuition, just over $50,000, and student population, with over 13,000 in attendance. Whether you’re looking to earn your associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, Georgia schools offer plenty of options.
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Students can earn degrees in religious studies, business, social work, law, and computer science. Those looking to attend technical colleges can also choose from a handful of schools that offer two-year degrees in medicine, nursing, and education. Part of the University System of Georgia, Atlanta Metropolitan State college is the state’s most affordable college at $3,000, and its students can major in fields like mathematics, criminal justice, and philosophy.
The Blue Ridge Mountains, oak and hickory forests, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain all make their home in Georgia, but the state’s most notable landform is the Okefenokee Swamp, the largest such water-mass in North America. This diverse landscape in The Peach State provides Georgia’s college and graduate students with a beautiful backdrop for an education.
Georgia also offers a loan repayment program for qualifying graduates in the medical field through the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce. Check out the best degree programs and top career paths this southern state has to offer.
We’ve identified 23 affordable colleges and universities in Georgia with stated tuitions and fees below the national average of $16,000/year.
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
14%
Student body
2K
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East Georgia State College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
13%
Student body
4K
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Georgia Highlands College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
24%
Student body
1K
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Atlanta Metropolitan State College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
29%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1025/19
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Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
16%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
930/17
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Gordon State College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
29%
Student body
4K
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Dalton State College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
23%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
985/18
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Middle Georgia State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
23%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/19
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College of Coastal Georgia’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
18%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/18
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Georgia Gwinnett College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
36%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/19
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Georgia Southwestern State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
31%
Student body
6K
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Clayton State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
26%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
815/16
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Albany State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
46%
Graduation
27%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
965/17
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Savannah State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
38%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
980/20
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Columbus State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
44%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1000/20
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University of West Georgia’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
54%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1125/22
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Georgia Southern University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
40%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
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Valdosta State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
43%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
905/17
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Fort Valley State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
53%
Student body
35K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/23
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Georgia State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
62%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/25
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Georgia College & State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
48%
Graduation
87%
Student body
38K
Median SAT/ACT
1330/29
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University of Georgia’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
21%
Graduation
91%
Student body
31K
Median SAT/ACT
1405/31
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Georgia Tech’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
8%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
870/15
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Paine College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
35%
Graduation
45%
Student body
<1K
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Thomas University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
29%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
905/16
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Andrew College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
15%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
965/18
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Brewton–Parker College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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