Davidson College in Davidson, NC, climbed from the No. 4 spot to steal the crown from Duke University as the top school in the South this year. Davidson also came in as the No. 10 ranked liberal arts school this year. The Blue Devils slipped just one spot and still come out on top as No. 2 on the Southern schools list. Rounding out the top five colleges in the region are Rice University in Houston, TX, Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA and University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
Rhodes College in Memphis, TN made the biggest leap and is a newcomer to this list. The school jumped 55 slots from No. 148 to a respectable No. 93 overall. Furman University in Greenville, SC is also making its debut. New Orleans’ Tulane University and Southwestern University Georgetown, TX appeared on last year’s best schools of the south but didn’t make the cut this time around. The state of Virginia has six of the top 25 colleges in the South, the most of any other state in the region.
The Land of Dixie is home to many of the nation’s top private universities. Fifteen of the top 25 colleges in the region are private, including four out of the top five. Students studying in the region can also get a lot of bang for their buck, with four of the top 25 best value schools stationed below the Mason-Dixon Line. Five of the top 25 public schools in the nation are in located in this region, as well.
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