Where to Start Looking for Virginia Colleges
Families looking for Virginia colleges should visit the Virginia Education Wizard which is a comprehensive college planning website. You will have to register to use many of its features. Under the College Planner section, users will find a college search option for both in state and out-of-state, links to test preparation, FAQs, and an academic calendar of all state community colleges. The website will also send email reminders if requested.
The cost calculator is limited to state community colleges. The scholarship and award estimator are also just for community colleges. The Transfer section lists existing transfer agreements and guaranteed admission agreements along with a transfer planner and information on the college transfer grant. This is one of the few websites that has information for students with disabilities.
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia Students & Parents section provides a degree inventory for all 2 and 4 year programs in the state. It also includes a list of colleges and publications for student and parents. Under the Financial Aid section, students will find a useful table listing of types of undergraduate financial aid including information on the Academic Common Market.
The Opportunities: Preparing for College Guide and Workbook under the documents section is worth downloading. It’s a comprehensive 30 page document covering college admissions and financial aid. The transfer tool allows you to select specific courses and then select community colleges to see if the course would transfer from the school. This could be a good way to select a community college.
The I am the One website offers a few downloadable documents similar to those on the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Otherwise, almost all the resources are simply links to other sites such the Virginia Education Wizard and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
Some Numbers to Help You Find a College
Virginia has 40 four-year institutions with 500 or more full-time undergraduates. 25 are private not-for profit colleges and 15 public universities according to the Integrated Post-secondary Data System. Of the 208,804 students, 29% attend private colleges and 71% attend public universities.
The average four-year graduation rate for private colleges was 43% and the average five-year rate for public schools was 62.6%. A total of 15 Virginia colleges meet the DIY College Rankings 50-50 profile requirements.
The average SAT score for college-bound seniors in Virginia was 518 for Critical Reading and 516 for Math. The 75th percentile scores were 590 for Critical Reading and 590 for Math. A total 16 colleges had 75th percentile scores equal to or higher than the state in both categories.
The top 20 colleges SAT test takers applied to:
- James Madison University
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Virginia Tech
- George Mason University
- University of Virginia
- Old Dominion University
- Christopher Newport University
- College of William and Mary
- Radford University
- University of Mary Washington
- Longwood University
- Liberty University
- Bridgewater College
- Virginia State University
- University of Richmond
- Penn State University Park
- University of South Carolina: Columbia
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Lynchburg College
- West Virginia University
Virginia Colleges Conferences and Divisions
List of Virginia Colleges
In the following table, the four-year graduation rate is used for private colleges and the five-year rate for public colleges. The data are based on the data available from IPEDS in September of 2015 which are available on the DIY College Search spreadsheet.
Virginia Colleges with Graduation Rates and Test Scores
(Download PDF Version)
College Type Full-
time
Under-
grads4/5 Yr
Grad
Rate%
AdmittedSAT CR
75th%SAT
Math
75th%ACT
75th%Avg Net
Price After
Gift Aid
Averett University Private 851 18 63 520 530 22 19343
Bluefield College Private 723 38 57 500 510 21 19582
Bridgewater College Private 1840 52 55 560 570 25 19211
Christopher Newport University Public 4962 64 59 630 620 28 20328
College of William and Mary Public 6195 89 33 740 720 32 11534
Eastern Mennonite University Private 1122 50 65 568 560 25 21512
Emory & Henry College Private 889 33 66 560 560 25 18885
Ferrum College Private 1492 20 74 490 490 20 17222
George Mason University Public 17261 61 62 620 630 28 16155
Hampden-Sydney College Private 1068 60 55 600 615 27 27758
Hampton University Private 3491 50 36 550 540 23 21191
Hollins University Private 561 56 69 640 580 27 21210
James Madison University Public 17526 80 64 620 630 27 14521
Jefferson College of Health Sciences Private 692 12 41 520 540 23 22022
Liberty University Private 25911 27 22 570 570 26 23191
Longwood University Public 4123 62 81 550 540 23 16182
Lynchburg College Private 2089 46 64 550 560 24 23046
Mary Baldwin College Private 1037 39 88 550 510 25 19465
Marymount University Private 2141 44 83 570 560 24 22593
Norfolk State University Public 4979 33 65 480 480 20 11753
Old Dominion University Public 15102 45 77 560 570 23 12753
Radford University Public 8545 56 78 540 540 22 12295
Randolph College Private 649 46 83 610 590 28 22498
Randolph-Macon College Private 1295 57 64 590 590 26 25454
Regent University Private 1497 21 85 630 570 25 18505
Roanoke College Private 1964 58 73 600 590 26 28012
Shenandoah University Private 1791 34 85 550 570 26 27226
Southern Virginia University Private 636 28 100 570 560 26 21722
Sweet Briar College Private 680 54 84 620 590 27 25988
The University of Virginia's College at Wise Public 1471 38 74 530 520 22 10914
University of Mary Washington Public 3843 73 81 620 590 26 15074
University of Richmond Private 3010 82 31 690 720 31 21067
University of Virginia-Main Campus Public 15089 92 30 720 740 33 13463
Virginia Commonwealth University Public 19746 51 69 610 600 26 16764
Virginia Military Institute Public 1675 74 47 620 630 27 16633
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Public 23512 80 70 640 680 19096
Virginia State University Public 4817 42 95 450 445 18 14135
Virginia Union University Private 1329 22 58 420 420 17 19267
Virginia Wesleyan College Private 1349 37 93 573 570 24 23086
Washington and Lee University Private 1851 86 18 740 720 33 19147