The 25 Best Big Colleges in the U.S.
/granite-web-prod/65/4b/654b9c398f8644fdac0945136f94a2b2.jpeg)
Big university, big benefits. So say many students and graduates of a Big U, which is a lot of people. Large alumni networks, academic variety, and vast social and extracurricular opportunities are among the reasons people choose big schools. Another plus: Big state schools are typically cheaper than smaller private schools.
Which big schools offer the most benefits to students? Niche broke it down by ranking four-year public and private universities with undergraduate populations over 15,000 by nine factors, with academics (40 percent) and value (27. 5 percent) by far the leading indicators. These 25 big schools topped the list.
25. University of Pittsburgh
/granite-web-prod/c0/34/c03421f346b34e4792b43e936f7bffa5.jpeg)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Undergraduate students: 18,390
Acceptance rate: 60 percent
SAT range: 1240-1420
Net price (annual): $22,848
What else is good about it? Niche ranks the school as the No. 25 public university in the U.S., and No. 12 for students studying kinesiology and physical therapy. The close-to-downtown campus makes it a stellar choice for students who want to be in the thick of a city.
24. Clemson University
/granite-web-prod/ed/4b/ed4b20e7443f4b53944feb4e99592009.jpeg)
Location: Clemson, South Carolina
Undergraduate students: 18,642
Acceptance rate: 47 percent
SAT range: 1220-1390
Net price (annual): $18,757
What else is good about it? It’s a winning school for sports lovers, and not just because of the perennially great football team. Niche rates Clemson No. 7 for sports management and No. 14 among best colleges for athletics.
Clemson students at Unigo rave about the school’s spirit. Says one freshman, “When I first arrived at Clemson, I was taken back by the amount of school spirit.”
23. North Carolina State University
/granite-web-prod/a9/37/a937965779e34d0ba4c9dfd7b2b077a1.jpeg)
Location: Raliegh, North Carolina
Undergraduate students: 21,384
Acceptance rate: 51 percent
SAT range: 1230-1390
Net price (annual): $13,442
What else is good about it? North Carolina State students receive an average of $10,998 in financial aid, several thousand more than the national average of $7,535. The school also ranks No. 8 in agricultural sciences, according to Niche.
22. Texas A&M University
/granite-web-prod/12/e4/12e4da06e3ec4fb5b84e56eb15ff6e14.jpeg)
Location: College Station, Texas
Undergraduate students: 46,724
Acceptance rate: 71 percent
SAT range: 1140-1360
Net price (annual): $19,554
What else is good about it? It certainly lives up to its A&M name. Niche ranks the school No. 4 in the country for agricultural sciences. The most popular majors? Liberal Arts and humanities, and foods, nutrition and wellness studies.
It’s one of two schools on this list with more than 40,000 undergraduate students.
21. The Ohio State University
/granite-web-prod/5a/62/5a62980cb6e14ad0a0359caf6f2c3f1d.jpeg)
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Undergraduate students: 42,003
Acceptance rate: 48 percent
SAT range: 1260-1450
Net price (annual): $18,042
What else is good about it? The second of the two schools on this list with more than 40,000 undergraduate students, OSU ranks No. 16 among all schools for best student life and No. 21 among public universities, according to Niche.
20. Penn State University
/granite-web-prod/d4/c7/d4c73d70948f488a82ec7855f62fb794.jpeg)
Location: State College, Pennsylvania
Undergraduate students: 39,785
Acceptance rate: 50 percent
SAT range: 1160-1340
Net price (annual): $25,346
What else is good about it? It’s the No. 7 school in the nation for information technology, which explains why information science is the most popular major. Biology and economics run No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
The student to faculty ratio at PSU is 16:1.
19. University of Washington
/granite-web-prod/4e/c4/4ec4bfda7fa0466eb7d58e34d5d2a7a1.jpeg)
Location: Seattle, Washington
Undergraduate students: 28,759
Acceptance rate: 46 percent
SAT range: 1190-1420
Net price (annual): $9,443
What else is good about it? Information technology makes its mark here, too, as befits a school in the same city as Amazon and Microsoft. The school ranks No. 13 for information technology, according to Niche. It also ranks No. 24 in diversity.
18. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
/granite-web-prod/f2/52/f252ec8699cf47f6bdd051351fe125b3.jpeg)
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Undergraduate students: 29,991
Acceptance rate: 50 percent
SAT range: 1270-1480
Net price (annual): $16,808
What else is good about it? It’s another standout school for the agricultural sciences, ranking No. 5 in the country. Median earnings for graduates six years after graduation: $51,900. That’s much higher than the national average of $33,028.
17. Purdue University
/granite-web-prod/cd/d0/cdd0dc886a0641f1a23d60d36d92c3df.jpeg)
Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
Undergraduate students: 30,277
Acceptance rate: 57 percent
SAT range: 1150-1380
Net price (annual): $12,117
What else is good about it? The student to faculty ratio at the top public school in Indiana: 13:1. Business is the most popular major, tripling the numbers of the second-most popular major, mechanical engineering.
16. Brigham Young University
/granite-web-prod/d8/1e/d81e3a6f4e9149f3b2a16cbb61533950.jpeg)
Location: Provo, Utah
Undergraduate students: 28,156
Acceptance rate: 52 percent
SAT range: 1210-1410
Net price (annual): $12,979
What else is good about it? Niche ranks the private, Christian university in the top 10 in six different categories:
- Most conservative colleges (No. 4)
- Best Christian colleges (No. 4)
- Best colleges for information technology (No. 4)
- Best colleges for education (No. 5)
- Best colleges for accounting and finance (No. 6)
- Best colleges for kinesiology and physical therapy (No. 9)
15. University of California, Santa Barbara
/granite-web-prod/a9/47/a947490ed3094f3c986ee461b4fecfdf.jpeg)
Location: Santa Barbara, California
Undergraduate students: 21,777
Acceptance rate: 33 percent
SAT range: 1190-1400
Net price (annual): $16,154
What else is good about it? Besides being located in one of the most beautiful settings for a college campus in America, UCSB ranks No. 15 among top public universities in the country.
It’s also the No. 21 party school. In a Niche survey, 32 percent of students described the typical Santa Barbara student as “work hard, party hard.”
14. University of Georgia
/granite-web-prod/7a/1e/7a1e080a568f472dbf2e08a0612f0b0a.jpeg)
Location: Athens, Georgia
Undergraduate students: 27,142
Acceptance rate: 54 percent
SAT range: 1200-1370
Net price (annual): $15,934
What else is good about it? Georgia’s social scene is transcendent. According to Niche, the school ranks No. 4 among party schools. No. 5 for best student life, No. 7 for best Greek life and No. 13 for food.
13. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
/granite-web-prod/2e/c0/2ec0d09d36844d3fadcca22defe0dae7.jpeg)
Location: Champaign, Illinois
Undergraduate students: 32,613
Acceptance rate: 62 percent
SAT range: 1340-1500
Net price (annual): $16,638
What else is good about it? Here it is, your No. 1 school for Greek life. It also ranks No. 5 among party schools. Students emerge, though, with excellent earning prospects. The median earnings six years after graduation: $61,500 a year, almost double the national average.
12. University of Wisconsin
/granite-web-prod/1a/69/1a69b10f4bfe452ab418380a91e08289.jpeg)
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Undergraduate students: 28,977
Acceptance rate: 54 percent
SAT range: 1280-1450
Net price (annual): $15,910
What else is good about it? Another school notable for its social scene. It’s the No. 3 party school, according to Niche, and it ranks No. 4 for best student life. Academically, it ranks exceptionally well for agricultural sciences (No. 7) and education (No. 11).
11. Boston University
/granite-web-prod/4b/8d/4b8d9558a7a1439eb367619c7a85a889.jpeg)
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Undergraduate students: 17,286
Acceptance rate: 25 percent
SAT range: 1300-1480
Net price (annual): $33,728
What else is good about it? Here’s another great school for city lovers. The Beantown university is popular with business and communications majors. The student to faculty ratio is 10:1.
10. University of Florida
/granite-web-prod/3d/b4/3db4c86ed0684c0c9729dfff96ea66d8.jpeg)
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Undergraduate students: 31,384
Acceptance rate: 42 percent
SAT range: 1240-1400
Net price (annual): $15,283
What else is good about it? Florida’s best college, according to Niche, graduates 88 percent of its students, far higher than the national average of 49 percent. Athletics are huge on campus. It’s the No. 1 ranked school for college athletics and the No. 4 school for student-athletes. It also ranks No. 3 for sports management.
9. Virginia Tech
/granite-web-prod/c7/f7/c7f7f740aff642fc9397bea4239528f2.jpeg)
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Undergraduate students: 26,603
Acceptance rate: 70 percent
SAT range: 1180-1360
Net price (annual): $18,700
What else is good about it? It’s the No. 2 school for food and the No. 9 school for best student life. What do students at Virginia Tech study? Management sciences and information systems, and mechanical engineering, are the top-two majors.
The graduation rate is 84 percent.
8. University of Texas
/granite-web-prod/2f/dd/2fdd05e6fc1b4bbaba37550209053fb2.jpeg)
Location: Austin, Texas
Undergraduate students: 37,740
Acceptance rate: 36 percent
SAT range: 1220-1460
Net price (annual): $14,356
What else is good about it? The net annual cost of attending is $14,356, more than $1,000 less than average. And the median earnings six years after graduation is $58,200, which is almost double the national average. It’s a solid value.
7. New York University
/granite-web-prod/70/01/7001837c127e49db8c325ea39a2e11fd.jpeg)
Location: New York, New York
Undergraduate students: 25,347
Acceptance rate: 28 percent
SAT range: 1290-1490
Net price (annual): $36,256
What else is good about it? This is the school for city lovers. Niche ranks it the school with the No. 3 setting in the U.S. Academically, it ranks No. 2 for film and photography, No. 3 for information technology and No. 8 for nursing.
6. University of North Carolina
/granite-web-prod/72/28/722844e947d14874a5e3ee51dde1442e.jpeg)
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Undergraduate students: 18,303
Acceptance rate: 24 percent
SAT range: 1270-1460
Net price (annual): $11,100
What else is good about it? Niche ranks UNC in the top 10 in seven different categories, including best big colleges. The other six ranks:
- Best for student athletes (No. 6)
- Best for education (No. 6)
- Best for college athletics (No. 7)
- Top public universities (No. 7)
- Best colleges for communications (No. 8)
- Best for global studies (No. 10)
5. University of California, Berkeley
/granite-web-prod/9b/7e/9b7eb440aa4c4a7ba1fa1664c94fb6df.jpeg)
Location: Berkeley, California
Undergraduate students: 29,351
Acceptance rate: 17 percent
SAT range: 1260-1480
Net price (annual): $18,178
What else is good about it? The first of three California schools in the top five ranks No. 4 among the most liberal schools in the country. The graduation rate is 91 percent, and the top three majors are economics, cellular biology and computer science.
4. University of Virginia
/granite-web-prod/9e/fe/9efef2fa97074d4aaf1f1fbcab53f931.jpeg)
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Undergraduate students: 15,766
Acceptance rate: 27 percent
SAT range: 1310-1500
Net price (annual): $16,594
What else is good about it? The student-to-faculty ratio at the institution founded by Thomas Jefferson is 15:1. The top major: Liberal arts and humanities. As befits a school with a beautiful campus, the school ranks No. 8 among the best colleges for architecture.
3. University of California, Los Angeles
/granite-web-prod/c3/95/c395eeca03ef418d86a46d340e580b23.jpeg)
Location: Los Angeles, California
Undergraduate students: 30,458
Acceptance rate: 16 percent
SAT range: 1220-1450
Net price (annual): $14,760
What else is good about it? Niche ranks UCLA in the top 10 in seven different categories, including best big colleges. The other six ranks:
- Best college campus (No. 1)
- Best food (No. 1)
- Best student life (No. 2)
- Top public universities (No. 2)
- Best for design (No. 6)
- Best for film and photography (No. 6)
2. University of Michigan
/granite-web-prod/2f/66/2f66a4b7a03242b699e7b421f1cc1297.jpeg)
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Undergraduate students: 28,702
Acceptance rate: 27 percent
SAT range: 1330-1500
Net price (annual): $16,408
What else is good about it? Niche ranks Michigan in the top 10 in ten different categories, including best big colleges. The other nine ranks:
- Best for sports management (No. 2)
- Best for education (No. 3)
- Best student life (No. 3)
- Top public universities (No. 1)
- Best for kinesiology and physical therapy (No. 4)
- Best for business (No. 5)
- Best for nursing (No. 7)
- Best for student athletes (No. 8)
- Best for film and photography (No. 10)
1. University of Southern California
/granite-web-prod/c7/ea/c7eaf18887ed45309981ab3f63a879bf.jpeg)
Location: Los Angeles, California
Undergraduate students: 18,631
Acceptance rate: 17 percent
SAT range: 1300-1500
Net price (annual): $32,892
What else is good about it? Not only is it the top-ranked big school, according to Niche, it also ranks No. 1 in student life, design, and film and photography.
While the cost of the private school is high, with a net annual cost of more than $32,000, the return is also high. The median earnings of Trojans six years after graduation: $74,000.