Here are the best colleges and universities in West Virginia. Our list will help you find the right kind of school for you.
West Virginia has 20 public higher education institutions, all at a sticker price of $9,000 or less, making it one of the more affordable states to earn a degree. With over 25,000 students in attendance, West Virginia University is the largest and charges $9,000 in tuition. Aside from the community and state colleges, six other public universities have populations ranging from about 2,100 to just over 10,000, and all schools have a tuition rate of about $8,000.
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The state is also home to 12 private schools, eight of which are religiously affiliated. The University of Charleston is the largest private university, but its student population is still small. About 2,000 students take classes in fields such as chemistry, political science, and history, and the tuition totals $21,000. At $32,000 in tuition and fees, West Virginia Wesleyan College is the most expensive, but its student population is only slightly above 1,300.
As the only state contained entirely within the Appalachian range, West Virginia is rightfully nicknamed The Mountain State. Those who love the outdoors will feel at home hiking through the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve or skiing at Canaan Valley Ski Resort. History buffs can visit Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, where they can take a walk through life in the 1800s. In addition, the state offers over 30 private and public colleges and universities to those looking to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree.
Check out the state’s top programs and see why West Virginia could be a good fit for your educational goals and budget.
Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges
We’ve identified 21 colleges and universities in West Virginia that meet our criteria. This list of the top colleges in West Virginia below focuses on schools that offer bachelor’s degrees. The ranking features fully accredited public and private colleges and universities in West Virginia.
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
64%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/24
West Virginia University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
52%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1042/22
Marshall University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
30%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
980/19
West Virginia State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
49%
Student body
37K
American Public University System’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$31K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
43%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1072/21
University of Charleston’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
42%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1010/20
West Liberty University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
45%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/20
Fairmont State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
43%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
970/19
Bethany College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
54%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
985/21
West Virginia Wesleyan College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
44%
Student body
3K
Shepherd University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
32%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
960/19
Bluefield State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
24%
Student body
1K
Potomac State College of West Virginia University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
42%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
930/19
Concord University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
28%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1015/20
West Virginia University Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
67%
Graduation
32%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
950/19
Alderson Broaddus University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
41%
Student body
2K
West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Graduation
31%
Student body
<1K
Salem University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
45%
Median SAT/ACT
980/20
Tuition + fees
$29K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
57%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
990/20
Wheeling University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
45%
Student body
<1K
Davis & Elkins College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
38%
Student body
1K
Glenville State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.