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Best colleges in South Carolina for 2025: U.S. News & World Report

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Best colleges in South Carolina for 2025: U.S. News & World Report

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2025’s U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings are in, giving high schoolers the opportunity to learn up on schools they may have not considered attending before.

Two South Carolina colleges were named among the national rankings, with Clemson University leading the state at ranking No. 80. The University of South Carolina was also among the national rankings at No. 121.

If you are wondering if your college ranked among the best, there are other lists where S.C. schools appeared, like the national liberal arts and regional colleges/universities lists.

Here’s what to know about the rankings.

How were the college rankings determined?

This year’s report rankings did not undergo any substantial changes from last year’s methodology. This means many of the top rankings from last year remain the same or similar. However, there are over 25 articles provided this year breaking down the methodologies used to determine the rankings. Borrower debt, first-year retention/graduation rates, financial resources, faculty resources/salaries, and the number of college grads earning more than a high school graduate were some of the factors used to rank colleges.

Clemson University

Clemson University ranked No. 80 out of 436 national universities, noted for its average six-year graduation rate of 86% and 16:1 student faculty ratio. It also ranked No. 39 in the categories Top public Schools, No. 48 in Best Colleges for Veterans, No. 54 in Nursing, and No. 57 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs. Clemson’s current acceptance rate is 38%, making it a competitive university to get into.

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina ranked No. 121 out of 436 national universities. It also ranked No. 1 in International Business, No. 2 in First-Year Experiences, No. 10 in Learning Communities, and No. 39 in Nursing. The school has a 69% four-year graduate rate and 19:1 student/faculty ratio. Currently, the university’s acceptance rate is 61%.

What are SC’s best national liberal arts colleges?

∎ No. 45: Furman University

∎ No. 66: Wofford College

∎ No. 147: Presbyterian College

∎ No. 153: Claflin University

What are SC’s top 10 regional universities South?

∎ No. 1: The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina

∎ No. 7: University of South Carolina-Upstate

∎ No. 9: College of Charleston

∎ No. 12: Winthrop University

∎ No 17: Bob Jones University

∎ No. 29: Columbia International University

∎ No. 34: Anderson University – Tie

Coastal Carolina University – Tie

North Greenville University – Tie

∎ No. 41: Columbia College (SC)

What are SC’s top 10 regional colleges South?

∎ No. 14: Lander University

∎ No. 15: Newberry College

∎ No. 34: North Greenville University

∎ No. 38: University of South Carolina-Beaufort

∎ No. 46: Erskine College

∎ No. 68: Voorhees University

∎ No. 73: Coker University

∎ No. 76: Limestone University

∎ No. 80: Benedict College

∎ No. 83: Morris College

Top 20 National Universities

∎ No. 1: Princeton University, New Jersey

∎ No. 2: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

∎ No. 3: Harvard University, Massachusetts

∎ No. 4: Stanford University, California

∎ No. 5: Yale University, Connecticut

∎ No. 6: California Institute of Technology – Tie

Duke University, North Carolina – Tie

Johns Hopkins University, Maryland – Tie

Northwestern University, Illinois – Tie

∎ No. 10: University of Pennsylvania

∎ No. 11: Cornell University, New York – Tie

University of Chicago, Illinois – Tie

∎ No. 13: Brown University, Rhode Island – Tie

Columbia University, New York – Tie

∎ No. 15: Dartmouth College, New Hampshire – Tie

University of California, Los Angeles – Tie

∎ No. 17 – University of California, Berkeley

∎ No. 18: Rice University, Texas – Tie

University of Notre Dame, Indiana – Tie

Vanderbilt University, Tennessee – Tie

Top 20 National Liberal Arts Colleges

∎ No. 1: Williams College, Massachusetts

∎ No. 2: Amherst College, Massachusetts

∎ No. 3: Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania

∎ No. 4: United States Naval Academy, Maryland

∎ No. 5: Bowdoin College, Minnesota – Tie

Pomona College, California – Tie

∎ No. 7: Wellesley College, Massachusetts

∎ No. 8: Carleton College, Minnesota – Tie

Claremont McKenna College, California – Tie

United States Air Force Academy, Colorado – Tie

United States Military Academy at West Point, New York – Tie

∎ No. 12 – Harvey Mudd College, California – Tie

Vassar College, New York – Tie

∎ No. 14 – Barnard College, New York – Tie

Davidson College, North Carolina – Tie

Hamilton College, New York – Tie

Smith College, Massachusetts – Tie

Wesleyan University, Connecticut – Tie

∎ No. 19: Grinnell College, Iowa – Tie

Middlebury College, Vermont – Tie

Washington and Lee University, Virginia – Tie

Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com.

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