Public colleges and universities account for almost 75 percent of all undergraduate students in the U.S. The best public colleges in Virginia provide broad access to reputable degree programs, affordable tuition, and sprawling educational communities.
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 best colleges pound for pound!
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 public colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 15 public universities in Virginia, all of which satisfy our criteria. The list below of the best public universities in the state satisfies the following four conditions:
Tuition + fees
$18K
Acceptance
23%
Graduation
94%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1430/32
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University of Virginia’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
42%
Graduation
91%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1415/32
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William & Mary’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
60%
Graduation
85%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1180/24
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Virginia Military Institute’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
72%
Student body
31K
Median SAT/ACT
1215/27
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George Mason University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
86%
Student body
35K
Median SAT/ACT
1285/28
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Virginia Tech’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
66%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1165/24
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Virginia Commonwealth University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
46%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
920/17
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Virginia State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
39%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
950/18
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Norfolk State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
65%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1180/26
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University of Mary Washington’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
82%
Student body
21K
Median SAT/ACT
1205/25
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James Madison University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
53%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/21
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Old Dominion University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
56%
Student body
9K
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Radford University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
80%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/24
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Christopher Newport University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
52%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
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University of Virginia's College at Wise’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
67%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1055/20
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Longwood University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
What are Custom College Rankings?
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