Study ranks 10 best colleges & universities in Virginia

With the first “early decision” college-application deadline looming on Nov. 1 and tuition costs having more than doubled since the 1980s, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its 2020’s Best College & University Rankings.

To help college-bound seniors choose the best schools within their states, WalletHub compared over 1,000 higher-education institutions in the U.S. based on 33 key measures grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost & Financing and Career Outcomes.

The data set ranges from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary.

According to the study, the best ranked colleges and universities in Virginia are as listed:

1. University of Virginia
2. College of William and Mary
3. University of Richmond
4. Washington and Lee University
5. Virginia Military Institute
6. Virginia Tech
7. James Madison University
8. University of Mary Washington
9. George Mason University
10. Bridgewater College

With that in mind, here’s a closer look at some of the top schools and how each performed in certain metrics:

School Snapshot: University of Virginia (1 = Best; 18 = Average; 36 = Worst)

• 2^nd – Admission Rate
• 7^th – On-Campus Crime
• 9^th – Gender & Racial Diversity
• 2^nd – Graduation Rate
• 5^th – Post-Attendance Median Salary

School Snapshot: College of William and Mary (1 = Best; 18 = Average; 36 = Worst)

• 4^th – Admission Rate
• 10^th – Student-Faculty Ratio
• 10^th – On-Campus Crime
• 10^th – Gender & Racial Diversity
• 3^rd – Graduation Rate
• 7^th – Post-Attendance Median Salary

School Snapshot: University of Richmond (1 = Best; 18 = Average; 36 = Worst)

• 3^rd – Admission Rate
• 2^nd – Student-Faculty Ratio
• 7^th – Gender & Racial Diversity
• 4^th – Graduation Rate
• 3^rd – Post-Attendance Median Salary

To view the full reports, click here.