The Top 5 Universities in North Carlina

List of the top five universities in North Carolina:

1. Duke University

2. Davidson College

3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

4. Wake Forest University

5. North Carolina State University

   
   

Duke University

Duke University Chapel

Duke University ranks as the number one college in North Carolina with an acceptance rate of barely 5%. Duke University is a 720-acre campus located in Durham, North Carolina, and is home to about 6,500 undergraduate students. To have a chance of getting into Duke University, you should aim for a 4.0 GPA, and consider that over 90% of students admitted into Duke ranked in the top 25% of their high school class. Most Duke students scored at least a 1510-1560 on their SAT and a 34-35 on their ACT. Along with all of these factors, Duke thinks application essays, recommendations, character, extracurricular activities, and talent are also "very important" in their admissions process.

Davidson College

Davidson College is a liberal arts college and one of the best colleges in the Southern United States, and yes, Steph Curry is an alum.

Davidson College's acceptance rate for the class of 2028 was 13.3%, which is the lowest it has ever been. First-year students in the 2024-2025 school year had an average GPA of 3.86, while around 40% of students had above a 4.0 GPA. 90% of students who were admitted ranked in the top 25% of their class at their high school. About 50% of the members of the class of 2028 applied with SAT and ACT scores. The SAT EBREW mid-50% range was around 700-750, while the SAT Math scores mid-50% ranged from about 710-780. The ACT mid-50% range was around 31-34. Davidson College considers the rigor of high school course load, recommendations, and personal qualities as "very important," and application essays as "important" in their admissions process.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Memorial Hall at UNC Chapel Hill

For the class of 2028, UNC Chapel Hill's acceptance rate was 15.3% out of a massive 66,535 applications. The average GPA of students who were enrolled in the 2024-2025 school year was a 4.49. 77% of these students also ranked in the top 10% of their class, while 97% ranked in the top 25%. The SAT mid-50% range for students in the class of 2028 was 1400-1530. There is only one factor that UNC Chapel Hill considers "very important" in their admissions process, and that is the rigor of high school course load. UNC Chapel Hill also considers GPA, class rank, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent, personal qualities, state residency, volunteer work, and work experience as "important" in their admissions process.

Wake Forest University

Wait Chapel, an iconic building on the Wake Forest University campus

For the class of 2028, the acceptance rate of Wake Forest University was 22%. Wake Forest does not report average GPA, but based off of other statistics, we can assume that it is probably a 3.5 or higher. For the class of 2028, around 96% of students ranked in the top 20% of their high school class. About 50% of applicants for the 2023-2024 school year submitted test scores. The median SAT score for the class of 2028 was 1450, and the median ACT score was 33. Wake Forest Considers rigor of secondary school record, class rank, GPA, application essays, and personal qualities as "very important" to the admissions process, and recommendations, interviews, extracurriculars, and talent as "important."

North Carolina State University

NC State University's acceptance rate for the class of 2027 was 40% out of 39,822 applicants. 75% of the class of 2027 possessed a GPA of 3.75 or higher. In the class of 2027, 84% of enrolled students were ranked in the top 25% of their high school, and 99% were ranked in the top 50%. Although NC State is test optional, 72% of the class of 2027 submitted their test scores. In that, the average SAT scores ranged from 1280-1430 and the mid-50% ACT scores ranged from 25-31. The factors that NC State consider as "very important" are rigor of secondary school record, class rank, and GPA. Standardized test scores are considered "important" to the admissions process.

Sources

• https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/best-colleges-in-north-carolina/

• https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/how-to-get-into-duke-admissions-data-and-strategies/

• https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/how-to-get-into-unc-chapel-hill-admissions-data-strategies/

• https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/how-to-get-into-unc-chapel-hill-admissions-data-strategies/

• https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/how-to-get-into-wake-forest/

• https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/how-to-get-into-nc-state-university/

• https://admissions.wfu.edu/visit/tour/