Colleges

Colleges in North Carolina

North Carolina has 47 four-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates: 16 public and 31 private. The largest is North Carolina State University, with 27,371 undergraduates.

School	City	Type	Undergrads	Acceptance rate	SAT middle 50%	In-state tuition	Avg. net price	Grad rate
North Carolina State University	Raleigh	public	27,371	41.7%	1300–1470	$8,799	$17,303	84.8%
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte	public	24,453	79.6%	1140–1330	$7,239	$15,435	69%
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill	public	20,752	15.3%	1390–1530	$8,994	$11,655	91.2%
East Carolina University	Greenville	public	19,896	89.2%	1070–1240	$7,361	$15,739	62.6%
Appalachian State University	Boone	public	19,444	90.1%	1120–1280	$7,579	$16,836	74.5%
University of North Carolina Wilmington	Wilmington	public	14,922	64.2%	1230–1340	$7,277	$20,109	70.6%
University of North Carolina at Greensboro	Greensboro	public	14,062	88.5%	1150–1355	$7,661	$10,965	56.3%
North Carolina A & T State University	Greensboro	public	12,182	49.9%	1020–1190	$6,813	$10,846	57.2%
Western Carolina University	Cullowhee	public	10,024	81.8%	1080–1270	$4,630	$13,315	60.3%
Elon University	Elon	private	6,452	66.4%	1130–1280	$46,958	$41,555	84%
Duke University	Durham	private	6,442	5.7%	1500–1570	$68,758	$29,612	96.8%
North Carolina Central University	Durham	public	6,081	87%		$6,699	$15,359	41.7%
Fayetteville State University	Fayetteville	public	5,762	82.2%	890–1090	$4,353	$7,892	38.5%
Wake Forest University	Winston-Salem	private	5,485	21.7%	1410–1520	$67,642	$28,719	89.2%
University of North Carolina at Pembroke	Pembroke	public	5,330	93.3%	970–1200	$3,648	$10,260	43.5%
High Point University	High Point	private	5,129	75.3%	1110–1320	$45,312	$38,707	73.7%
Winston-Salem State University	Winston-Salem	public	4,170	78.3%	830–1020	$6,126	$13,479	46.7%
University of North Carolina Asheville	Asheville	public	2,910	91.9%	1170–1360	$7,501	$12,250	54.5%
Campbell University	Buies Creek	private	2,680	87.2%		$41,600	$24,516	61%
Wingate University	Wingate	private	2,668	91.1%	1010–1210	$41,636	$20,748	46.4%
Elizabeth City State University	Elizabeth City	public	1,975	64.2%	920–1080	$6,536	$6,364	43.5%
Davidson College	Davidson	private	1,867	13.4%	1400–1530	$64,410	$17,379	91.1%
Gardner-Webb University	Boiling Springs	private	1,856	77.2%	975–1198	$34,760	$17,674	55.4%
University of Mount Olive	Mount Olive	private	1,796	75.8%		$27,366	$18,853	51.8%
Methodist University	Fayetteville	private	1,448	75.1%	1080–1250	$41,250	$24,704	43.5%
Lenoir-Rhyne University	Hickory	private	1,359	84.6%		$31,900	$20,689	47.8%
Belmont Abbey College	Belmont	private	1,276	74.7%	960–1200	$19,500	$24,639	46.7%
Johnson C Smith University	Charlotte	private	1,244	45.2%		$21,300	$20,894	34.3%
Catawba College	Salisbury	private	1,235	75.2%	1030–1300	$34,300	$17,879	47.3%
North Carolina Wesleyan University	Rocky Mount	private	1,214	80.2%		$35,736	$17,432	42%
Queens University of Charlotte	Charlotte	private	1,211	62.1%	1140–1340	$45,846	$30,857	61.3%
Meredith College	Raleigh	private	1,188	74.2%	1098–1348	$45,630	$22,488	70.1%
Mars Hill University	Mars Hill	private	1,044	67.9%		$37,736	$19,910	44.9%
Guilford College	Greensboro	private	1,001	80%	1120–1260	$41,362	$22,270	45.8%
Barton College	Wilson	private	982	94.2%		$37,250	$23,626	45.9%
University of North Carolina School of the Arts	Winston Salem	public	945	30%	1140–1370	$9,477	$14,906	77.8%
Livingstone College	Salisbury	private	924	59.3%		$18,296	$13,479	28.2%
Shaw University	Raleigh	private	875	80.2%		$17,538	$16,512	21.8%
Lees-McRae College	Banner Elk	private	873	76.8%		$33,250	$28,340	42.1%
Brevard College	Brevard	private	815	42.2%	870–1220	$32,280	$23,509	48.8%
Montreat College	Montreat	private	762	69.2%		$36,450	$27,061	50.3%
Greensboro College	Greensboro	private	708	70.1%		$21,000	$17,882	46.2%
Warren Wilson College	Swannanoa	private	707	71.3%		$41,500	$21,249	42%
William Peace University	Raleigh	private	666	94.3%	1080–1225	$34,176	$21,649	44.8%
Pfeiffer University	Misenheimer	private	655	96%		$35,070	$19,076	35%
Chowan University	Murfreesboro	private	603	68.8%		$27,910	$14,086	30%
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary	Wake Forest	private	585	74.6%	1000–1250	$11,318	$13,090	58.1%

A blank cell means the school did not report that figure. Net price is the average cost after grants for students receiving federal aid. Graduation rate is within six years.

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Frequently asked questions

How many colleges are in North Carolina?

47 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges with at least 500 undergraduates, 16 public and 31 private, according to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Community colleges, for-profit schools, and online-only schools are not counted.

What is the hardest college to get into in North Carolina?

By acceptance rate, Duke University (5.7%), Davidson College (13.4%), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (15.3%), Wake Forest University (21.7%), University of North Carolina School of the Arts (30%) are the most selective.

What is the cheapest public college in North Carolina?

University of North Carolina at Pembroke has the lowest published in-state tuition and fees of the public four-year colleges here, at $3,648 a year. That is the sticker price before financial aid.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Institution-Level Data (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release. These are federal figures. Schools with a linked profile have also been checked against their own filings; the others have not.