2026 Best Small Colleges in North Carolina

Name: 2026 Best Small Colleges in North Carolina (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

30 North Carolina schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Small Colleges ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 30 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Small Colleges

Davidson College

Davidson

Acceptance rate

14.5%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$54,460

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#2 Best Small Colleges

Queens University of Charlotte

Charlotte

Acceptance rate

67.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$37,348

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#3 Best Small Colleges

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Winston-Salem

Acceptance rate

33.1%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$6,497

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,372

#4 Best Small Colleges

Meredith College

Raleigh

Acceptance rate

74.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$41,104

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#5 Best Small Colleges

Campbell University

Buies Creek

Acceptance rate

94.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,580

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#6 Best Small Colleges

Gardner-Webb University

Boiling Springs

Acceptance rate

87.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$31,220

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#7 Best Small Colleges

Catawba College

Salisbury

Acceptance rate

77.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$32,380

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#8 Best Small Colleges

University of North Carolina Asheville

Asheville

Acceptance rate

93.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$4,122

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#9 Best Small Colleges

Methodist University

Fayetteville

Acceptance rate

75.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$36,260

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#10 Best Small Colleges

Belmont Abbey College

Belmont

Acceptance rate

90.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$18,500

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#11 Best Small Colleges

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Hickory

Acceptance rate

80.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$41,500

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#12 Best Small Colleges

Wingate University

Wingate

Acceptance rate

85.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$40,070

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#13 Best Small Colleges

Guilford College

Greensboro

Acceptance rate

83.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$40,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#14 Best Small Colleges

Barton College

Wilson

Acceptance rate

95.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$33,430

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#15 Best Small Colleges

Pfeiffer University

Misenheimer

Acceptance rate

95.3%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$31,160

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#16 Best Small Colleges

Greensboro College

Greensboro

Acceptance rate

92.0%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$18,960

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#17 Best Small Colleges

University of Mount Olive

Mount Olive

Acceptance rate

77.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$21,618

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#18 Best Small Colleges

Warren Wilson College

Asheville

Acceptance rate

77.6%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$37,500

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#19 Best Small Colleges

Lees-McRae College

Banner Elk

Acceptance rate

80.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$26,267

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#20 Best Small Colleges

Livingstone College

Salisbury

Acceptance rate

74.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$15,917

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#21 Best Small Colleges

Elizabeth City State University

Elizabeth City

Acceptance rate

70.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$1,000

Avg. Cost after Aid

$4,000

#22 Best Small Colleges

Brevard College

Brevard

Acceptance rate

39.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$28,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#23 Best Small Colleges

Montreat College

Montreat

Acceptance rate

65.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$29,212

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#24 Best Small Colleges

Mars Hill University

Mars Hill

Acceptance rate

77.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$35,665

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#25 Best Small Colleges

William Peace University

Raleigh

Acceptance rate

97.4%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$31,950

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

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