Private colleges, unlike large public institutions, can be a great option for students wanting a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Here is our list of the best private colleges in Virginia.
Liberty University, a private Christian school in Lynchburg, is the largest school in Virginia, serving over 60,000 students. The largest public university, Virginia Tech, has a student population of about half that but offers many in-person degree programs as well as eight master’s programs and 19 certificate programs online. Students who attend Virginia Tech can pursue fields like engineering, criminal justice, education, and business.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
The majority of Virginia’s universities and colleges could be considered small schools, serving populations of less than 5,000 students. Included on this list are public schools, like Christopher Newport University in Newport News, and private schools, like Hampton University, a historically black university in Hampton. Though most of its higher education institutes charge tuition fees above the national average, Virginia offers several loan forgiveness programs for qualifying attorneys and medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmaceutical professionals.
Virginia is perhaps most famous for its rich history — but the state is also home to many unique museums and famous landmarks. For example, those who love the classics can visit the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond. Those who harbor romantic dreams of espionage and intrigue might visit the CIA Museum in McLean. And, if you like your attractions random, you could check out Virginia’s 300-yard-long natural tunnel or its 29-ton spinning granite ball. While you’re here, you might consider attending one of the 78 colleges located in the state.
Learn more about Virginia’s higher education opportunities by checking out the state’s many colleges and universities.
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Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models — one is a private company with private funding; the other is owned by the state and receives both state and federal funding to operate. If you’re weighing the pros and cons of private vs. public college, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.
Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a four-year degree at a public university is often lower than the equivalent cost at a private college — especially for students attending a public school in their home state. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a four-year public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually.
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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.
Find out more about our ranking methodology here.
Less This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 28 private universities in Virginia, 23 of which satisfy our criteria. The list below of the best private universities in the state satisfies the following four conditions:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
25%
Graduation
93%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1430/33
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Washington and Lee University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
45%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1083/22
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Southern Virginia University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
62%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/26
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Hollins University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
31%
Graduation
88%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
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University of Richmond’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$47K
Acceptance
47%
Graduation
71%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1190/23
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Hampden–Sydney College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$18K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
36%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
849/15
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Virginia Union University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$28K
Acceptance
36%
Graduation
57%
Student body
4K
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Hampton University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
50%
Graduation
61%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1105/22
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Regent University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$22K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
32%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1110/24
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Sweet Briar College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
66%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/23
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Randolph–Macon College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
54%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/20
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Marymount University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
60%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1100/22
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Eastern Mennonite University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
56%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/22
View profile
Randolph College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
54%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
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Emory and Henry College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$31K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
42%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/20
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Mary Baldwin University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
70%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/24
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Roanoke College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
50%
Graduation
54%
Student body
67K
Median SAT/ACT
1150/24
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Liberty University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
61%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1100/22
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Shenandoah University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
50%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
960/18
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Averett University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
36%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
985/19
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Bluefield College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
63%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/21
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Bridgewater College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
57%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/22
View profile
University of Lynchburg’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
32%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
960/18
View profile
Ferrum College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Photo By: Zeete - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
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