Top 20 Most Prestigious Public Colleges In The US
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Public colleges are a popular higher education option. They receive state funding, so tuition may be less expensive. The colleges themselves are frequently on the larger side, with more extracurricular opportunities (particularly in athletics) and course offerings.
But which public universities are the best in 2023? Our list of Top 20 Most Prestigious Public Colleges In The US is based on student and alumni feedback as well as data from the US Department of Education on academics, admissions, finances, and student life.
Check out KnowInsiders’ list of the best public colleges in the US for 2023. All of these colleges have an A rating.
Check More: Top 20 Best Universities In The US 2023/2024 By US News and QS Rankings
Top 20 Most Prestigious Public Colleges In The US
1. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Location: 3801 W Temple Ave, Pomona, CA 91768
Website: https://www.cpp.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $29,500
Graduation rate: 76%
Average time to a degree: 4.8 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 61%
GPA: 3.69
Undergraduate enrollment: 26,800
Public colleges are a popular higher education option. They receive state funding, so tuition may be less expensive. The colleges themselves are frequently on the larger side, with more extracurricular opportunities (particularly in athletics) and course offerings.
But which public universities are the best in 2023? Niche, a college research firm, publishes an annual ranking based on student and alumni feedback as well as data from the US Department of Education on academics, admissions, finances, and student life.
READ MORE: Top 30+ Colleges with the Lowest Student Debt in the U.S Today
2. CUNY Hunter College
Location: New York
Website: https://hunter.cuny.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $26,100
Graduation rate: 57%
Average time to a degree: 4.6 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 46%
GPA: 3.7
Hunter College provides a double benefit for its low tuition: intellectually challenging academics as well as the resources, opportunities, and cultural outlets that come with attending college on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
The college, which is one of 11 senior colleges in the City University of New York system, has over 170 areas of study and over 23,000 students, 75% of whom graduate debt-free. Its psychology, language, biology, and communications and media studies programs are particularly strong. The Silberman School of Social Work is especially well-known.
3. Colorado School of Mines
Location: 1500 Illinois St, Golden, CO 80401
Website: https://www.mines.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $40,000
Graduation rate: 81%
Average time to a degree: 4.2 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 57%
GPA: 3.84
Median SAT/ACT score: 1390/31
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,440
Colorado School of Mines, also known simply as Mines, is a small public research university located near Denver and Boulder at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Its primary academic focus is engineering and applied science, with research programs centered on its "mission to enhance understanding of the earth, energy, and environment."
READ MORE: Top 10 Law Schools With Lowest Tuition Costs in California 2023/2024
4. Georgia Institute of Technology
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Website: https://www.gatech.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $31,200
Graduation rate: 89%
Average time to a degree: 4.5 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 16%
Median SAT/ACT score: 1410/32
Undergraduate enrollment: 16,570
These impressive figures are not by chance. Georgia Tech accepts only about 16% of applicants, and its courses are demanding. Students can participate in faculty research and pursue interesting minors such as Korean, science fiction studies, and naval science.
5. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Location: San Luis Obispo
Website: https://www.calpoly.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $31,100
Graduation rate: 83%
Average time to a degree: 4.4 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 33%
GPA: 4
Undergraduate enrollment: 21,090
According to the school, more than 90% of Cal Poly graduates are working full-time or attending graduate school within a year of graduation. According to Money's analysis, students earn a median salary of just over $85,000 in their early careers, a premium over similar schools.
Cal Poly is located in sunny San Luis Obispo, California, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The college, known as "Slo," claims to be the most collegiate of the state's college towns, with farm-to-table restaurants, nightlife, and cultural events. Outside of the city, students can go hiking or relax on nearby beaches.
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6. University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Website: https://www.virginia.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $38,100
Graduation rate: 94%
Average time to a degree: 4.1 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 21%
Median SAT/ACT score: 1440/34
Undergraduate enrollment: 17,040
Students appear to thrive: at 94%, UVA has the highest graduation rate of any public university in the country. Undergraduate programs are available in areas such as astronomy, environmental thought and practice, medieval studies, Slavic languages and literature, and architecture. The roughly 17,000-person student body is not economically diverse, with approximately 14% of undergrads coming from low-income families.
7. CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College
Location: New York
Website: https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $35,700
Graduation rate: 71%
Average time to a degree: 4.4 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 51%
GPA: 3.7
In 1953, Baruch College was named after financier Bernard M. Baruch, and it still has money on its mind today: accounting, finance, and marketing are the most popular undergraduate programs. Over half of Baruch's 15,000-plus undergraduates attend the college's well-known Zicklin School of Business, which is just a few miles from Wall Street and the headquarters of some of the world's most powerful corporations.
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8. University of California, Berkeley
Location: Berkeley
Website: https://www.berkeley.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $43,500
Graduation rate: 93%
Average time to a degree: 4.2 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 14%
GPA: 3.87
Undergraduate enrollment: 31,810
With an acceptance rate of about 14%, UC Berkeley, or Cal for short, is one of the most selective public colleges in the country. Cal, a prestigious research university, provides students with access to a faculty that includes numerous MacArthur fellows, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Nobel laureates, such as biologist Randy Schekman, who received the 2013 Nobel Prize in medicine, and astrophysicist George Smoot, who received the 2006 award in physics.
9. CUNY Lehman College
Location: New York
Website:
Est. full price 2023-2024: $32,500
Graduation rate: 61%
Average time to a degree: 4.6 years
Acceptance rate: 58%
Undergraduate enrollment: 11,610
Lehman has approximately 12,000 undergraduate students studying in over 50 majors. Approximately half of the student body is first-generation college students, and the student body is fairly diverse, with significant Hispanic and Black populations.
The campus, which was once used as a training facility for women serving in World War II, is historic and features sprawling grassy lawns that make you feel far from the city. Business administration, sociology, and health-related fields such as nursing and medical administrative services are the most popular degrees.
10. Binghamton University
Location: East Vestal, NY
Website: https://www.binghamton.edu/
Undergraduate enrollment: 14,300
Est. full price 2023-2024: $30,900
Graduation rate: 81%
Average time to a degree: 4.1 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 44%
GPA: 4
Median SAT/ACT score: 1390/32
Part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, Binghamton University sees most of their incoming students come from the home state, though many will also come from New Jersey. The Bearcats compete in sports such as soccer, lacrosse, swimming, and track. Baxter the Bearcat is their mascot.
One of Binghamton's specialties is international education. The university has robust study-abroad offerings, and its student population includes 1,800 people from nearly 100 other countries. Binghamton also offers a dual-degree program with Turkish universities and a Languages Across Curriculum program, in which languages other than English are used in a variety of academic courses with the translation assistance of international graduate students.
 Top 20 Most Prestigious Colleges In The U.S Today |
11. University of Michigan
Location: Michigan
Website: https://umich.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $33,800
Graduation rate: 93%
Average time to a degree: 4.2 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 20%
GPA: 3.88
Median SAT/ACT score: 1450/33
Undergraduate enrollment: 32,060
Michigan, a perennial top performer in Money's rankings, excels in all three areas our team evaluates. Affordability? According to our calculations, the estimated net price of a degree from Michigan is around $103,600 before student and federal aid — less than the estimated net price of a degree from the other 600 schools on our list. Quality? The university has one of the highest graduation rates of any of the schools we looked at, at 93%. (It's also one of only four public universities on our list with a graduation rate of greater than 90%.) What are the outcomes for students? Student salaries are significantly higher than the national average.
12. Florida International University
Location: Florida
Website: https://www.fiu.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $25,100
Graduation rate: 68%
Average time to a degree: 4.5 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 64%
GPA: 4
Median SAT/ACT score: 1150/24
It is a top-tier research university with over 190 bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in architecture, the arts, education, sciences and engineering, business and economics, and public health, as well as a law school and a medical school.
13. CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Location: New York
Website: https://new.jjay.cuny.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $33,300
Graduation rate: 58%
Average time to a degree: 4.4 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 45%
GPA: 3.24
Undergraduate enrollment: 12,830
John Jay College, founded in 1964, is dedicated to fostering careers in criminal justice, forensic psychology, public service, and related fields. It has approximately 13,000 undergraduate students pursuing over 40 majors and 50 minors, including addiction studies, fraud examination, homeland security, security management, and fire science.
14. California State University Maritime Academy
Location: 200 Maritime Academy Dr, Vallejo, CA
Website: https://www.csum.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $28,600
Graduation rate: 68%
Average time to a degree: 4.2 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 82%
GPA: 3.43
Undergraduate enrollment: 880
The university's tuition is significantly lower than the national average, and the small average class size fosters a sense of community and close interactions with professors. The school, one of seven degree-granting maritime institutions in the United States and the only one on the West Coast, places students in high-paying jobs, with alumni earning median annual salaries of nearly $92,000 a decade after enrolling. (Approximately 8% of graduating students join the military.) The majority of students live on campus, and all students must wear a uniform to class. Fortunately, as stated on the university's website, "everybody looks good in khaki."
15. William & Mary
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Website: https://www.wm.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $42,600
Graduation rate: 90%
Average time to a degree: 4.1 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 37%
Median SAT/ACT score: 1440/33
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,520
The College of William and Mary, founded in 1693, is the country's second-oldest college, and with a campus bordering Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, it's easy to feel the history of the place.
William & Mary is still one of the best public colleges in the country, and one of only a few so-called "public Ivies." It is competitive: only about one-third of applicants are accepted, and the majority of students who enroll are at the top of their class. And it's a success: According to Money data, William & Mary has a 90% six-year graduation rate, and recent graduates earn an average annual salary of $69,900 a decade after enrolling.
16. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Location: North Carolina
Website: https://www.unc.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $26,000
Graduation rate: 90%
Average time to a degree: 4.5 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate:
Median SAT/ACT score: 1260/25
Undergraduate enrollment: 19,720
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the country's first public university, has long been regarded as one of the best values for a competitive education. Biology and other sciences, traditional liberal arts such as religious studies, and journalism are among UNC's strongest departments. The school is competitive, admitting only about 20% of applicants to its 20,000-person undergraduate student body. (Out-of-state applicants have even worse chances.)
17 . University of Wisconsin-Madison
Location: Wisconsin, Madison
Website: https://www.wisc.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $28,700
Graduation rate: 87%
Average time to a degree: 4.2 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 60%
GPA: 3.88
Median SAT/ACT score: 1410/29
Undergraduate enrollment: 33,510
Opportunities abound at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has approximately 47,000 students, over 34,000 of whom are undergraduates.
Students can choose from over 9,000 courses and 242 majors and certificates. The engineering and business programs are particularly prestigious. The school's size can be intimidating, and students report that professors are sometimes more focused on research than teaching. Nonetheless, students come from all over the country to attend UW-Madison, and 87% of them graduate within six years of matriculation.
18. Florida State University
Location: 600 W College Ave, Tallahassee, Florida
Website: https://www.fsu.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $24,600
Graduation rate: 83%
Average time to a degree: 4.2 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 37%
Median SAT/ACT score: 1260/28
Undergraduate enrollment: 33,370
The state legislature designated FSU as a preeminent research university, and it is also known for its criminal justice programs and film school. It also has one of only a few collegiate circuses in the United States.
The university ranks highly in terms of affordability: The estimated cost of an FSU degree is around $92,000, which is significantly less than the average cost among Money's ranked colleges, even before state and federal scholarships are considered.
19. Citadel Military College of South Carolina
Location: South Carolina
Website: https://www.citadel.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $32,200
Graduation rate: 75%
Average time to a degree: 4.1 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 86%
GPA: 3.8
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,680
The Citadel, located in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the country's six senior military colleges. However, unlike the country's five service academies, graduates are not required to serve in the military after graduation, though many do: One in every three graduates receives an officer commission. More than 80% of students who apply to public colleges are accepted, and 75% graduate within six years.
20. George Mason University
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Website: https://www.gmu.edu/
Est. full price 2023-2024: $32,100
Graduation rate: 74%
Average time to a degree: 4.4 years
Admissions
Acceptance rate: 91%
GPA: 3.68
Median SAT/ACT score:
Undergraduate enrollment: 26,340
GMU, which was once primarily a commuter school, now requires freshmen to live on campus, and it has grown to become Virginia's largest public university, with over 39,000 students, approximately 27,000 of whom are undergraduates. In its 11 schools and colleges, it offers more than 80 undergraduate majors.
Conclusion
Which public college in the US listed above do you like the most? Public colleges and universities are typically supervised by state governments and are funded in part by state tax dollars and subsidies. As a result, these colleges frequently offer reduced tuition to residents of their home states. Check out admission requirements and tuitions to find the best college for you.
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