The South's Best Colleges in Each State

Credit: John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images
MONEY has determined which of the roughly 2,000 four-year U.S. colleges and universities deliver the most value—that is, a great education, at an affordable price, that prepares students for rewarding careers.How did MONEY decide the schools that made the cut? The colleges must have 500 or more full-time under- graduates and a six-year graduation rate of at least the median for their type (public or private). Schools were also screened out if they had low grades from bond-rating agencies and those identified by the U.S. Department of Education as being in financial trouble. That left 705 colleges, which have been ranked on 24 measures in three equally weighted categories.Here are the best buys for each state in the South.
Start Slideshow

1 of 16

Alabama

Credit: Carol Highsmith/Getty Images

Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 16

Arkansas

Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR

3 of 16

Florida

Credit: Jeff Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

Advertisement

4 of 16

Delaware

Credit: Evan Krape/University of Delaware

University of Delaware
Newark, DE

5 of 16

Georgia

Credit: Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images

Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA

6 of 16

Kentucky

Credit: Courtesy of Berea College

Berea College
Berea, KY

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 16

Maryland

Credit: John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

University of Maryland
College Park, MD

8 of 16

Missouri

Credit: Stephen Ehlers/Getty Images

Washington University
Saint Louis, MO

9 of 16

Louisiana

Credit: Courtesy of Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, LA

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 16

North Carolina

Credit: Lance King/Getty Images

Duke University
Durham, NC

11 of 16

South Carolina

Credit: John Powell/Replay Photos via Getty Images

Clemson University
Clemson, SC

12 of 16

Tennessee

Credit: Vanderbilt/Collegiate Images/Getty Images

Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 16

Texas

Credit: Craig Hartley/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Rice University
Houston, TX

14 of 16

Virginia

Credit: hoto by Visions of America/UIG via Getty Imagesc

University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA

15 of 16

Washington, DC

Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Georgetown University
Washington, DC

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 16

West Virginia

Credit: Courtesy of Wheeling Jesuit University/Luke Kopp

Wheeling Jesuit University
Wheeling, WV

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next