Best Colleges in North Carolina – North Carolina is a state located in Southeastern region of the United States. In this beautiful state are lots of colleges of international repute. Whether your field is Science, Social Sciences, Engineering or Medicine, you will surely find the college that best suits you. North Carolina is not only well-known for its reputable colleges but also for a number of tourist centers in it. In this article, you will be getting to know about the best colleges in North Carolina and what makes those colleges stand out.
53 Best Colleges in North Carolina
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Duke University
- North Carolina State University
- Wake Forest University
- Appalachian State University
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- East Carolina University
- Elon University
- University of Carolina Wilmington
- Davidson College
- Western Carolina University
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
- North Carolina Central University
- High Point University
- Campbell University
- University of North Carolina at Asheville
- University of North Carolina at Pembroke
- Fayetteville State University
- Queens University of Charlotte
- Meredith College
- University of North Carolina School of the Arts
- Guilford College
- Winston-Salem State University
- Warren Wilson College
- Bennett College
- Gardner-Webb University
- North Carolina Wesleyan College
- Pfeiffer University
- Catawba College
- Johnson C. Smith University
- Montreat College
- Lees-McRae College
- Brevard College
- Methodist University
- Barton College
- Elizabeth City State University
- William Peace University
- Lenoir-Rhyne University
- Saint Augustine’s University
- Belmont Abbey College
- Mars Hill University
- Wingate University
- Salem College
- Shaw University
- Livingstone College
- Greensboro College
- Chowan University
- Carolina University
- St Andrews University
- University of Mount Olive
- Mid-Atlantic Christian University
- Cabarrus College of Health Sciences
Duke University
It is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1838 by Methodists and Quackers.
The Duke University is ranked among the top universities in the United States. Admission into undergraduate program is highly competitive with acceptance rate of 5.7%. The university spends over a $ 1 billion yearly making it one of the ten largest research universities in United States. Duke university is the second-largest private employer in North Carolina with over 39,000 employees.
The following schools exist in Duke University include:
- The Graduate School
- Pratt School of Engineering
- Nicholas School of the Environment
- School of Medicine
- The Duke-NUS Medical School
- School of Nursing
- Fuqua School of Business
- School of Law
- Divinity School
- Sanford School of Public Policy
Duke University Scholarships
Duke university offer scholarships to fresh students in two categories:
Merit-based Scholarship
Need-based Scholarship
Merit based scholarship: This kind of scholarship requires a candidate to submit application form for the scholarship. The scholarships under this category include:
- A.B. Duke Memorial Scholars Program
- Alumni Endowed Scholars program
- B.N. Duke Scholars Program
- Carolina Honors Scholarship
- Clark Scholars program
- David M. Rubenstein Scholars Program
- Karsh International Scholars program
- North Carolina Math Scholarship
- North Carolina Writing Scholarship
- Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholars Program
- Robertson Scholars Leadership Program
- Trinity Scholars Program
- University Scholars Program
Need-Based Scholarships:
Duke University go all the way to meet 100% of a student’s demonstrated financial need.
North Carolina State University
It is a public land-grant research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina. This university that happens to be the largest in Carolina was established in 1887.
The institution has 11 colleges namely:
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- College of Design
- College of Education
- College of Engineering
- College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- College of Natural Resources
- Poole College of Management
- College of Sciences
- Wilson College of Textiles
- College of Veterinary Medicine
- The Graduate School
- University College
Scholarships at University of North Carolina University
University of North Carolina University offers academic scholarships to outstanding students yearly. All admitted students are automatically qualified for this scholarship, no need for any additional application.
Some of the academic scholarship take financial need into consideration. Also for new students, the university also offers Scholarships which is based on a detailed review of the student’s application for admission. Criteria for selection of Scholarship include the following:
- Academic achievement
- Leadership qualities
- Commitment to service and
- Potential for success at the university
Some of the scholarships include:
- Blue Sky Scholars
- Carolina Scholarship
- College Fellows and Tar Heel Merit Scholarships
- Colonel Robinson Scholarship
- General Alumni Association Scholarships
- Innovation Scholarships
- Johnston Scholarship
- Old well and Founders Scholarships
- Pogue Scholarship
- Wood Family Scholarship
Wake Forest University
It is a private research university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was founded in 1834. The university runs both graduate and undergraduate programs.
The programs include:
- Wake Forest University School of Law
- Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Wake Forest University School of Business
- Wake Forest Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Wake Forest Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Scholarships in Wake Forest University
The university offers more than 50 merit-based scholarships, including full-tuition scholarships like Reynolds, Stamps, Carswell, Gordon.
Merit-based scholarships are offered to about 3% of first year applicants.
Major Merit-based Scholarships include:
- Guy T. Carswell Scholarships
- Joseph G. Gordon Scholarships
- Graylyn Scholarship
- Nancy Susan Reynolds Scholarships
- Stamps Scholarship
- Leadership and Character Scholars
Other Scholarships includes:
- Lelia and David Farr Scholarship (in Entrepreneurship)
- Inmar Technology (in computer science)
- Randall D. Ledford Scholarships (in Physics)
- William Louis Poteat Scholarships
- Presidential Scholarships for Distinguished Achievement
- Army ROTC Scholarships
- Egbert L. Davis Jr. Scholarships
- First Citizens South Carolina Scholarships
- George E. and Lila C. Bradford Scholarships
- Heritage Scholarships
- Holding Scholarships
- Junius C. and Eliza Brown Scholarships
- Leroy and Teresa Robinson Scholarships
- Marcus C. Miller Scholarship
- O.W Wilson Scholarship
- Robert P. and Dorothy Caldwell Scholarships
- Scholarship opportunities for returning students
- The Summer Grant Program
- University Scholarship Programs
- University Scholarships and Loans
- Additional Scholarship Programs
- University of North Carolina
Appalachian State University
The university ranks position #3 in the list of public universities in North Carolina. It is located in Boone, North Carolina. Admission is a bit competitive with admission rate of 80%.
There are over 20,000 students on enrollment. The university offers about 150 bachelor’s degree, 70 graduate degree programs and 2 doctoral programs.
Courses are categorized into seven colleges and one graduate school:
- College of Arts and Sciences
- College of Fine and Applied Arts
- Beaver College of Health Sciences
- Hayes School of Music
- The Honors College
- Reich College of Education
- Walker College of Business
- Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies.
Life at Appalachian State University
As a student, there are lot of outdoor activities you can explore. These activities include: snowboarding, skiing, tubing, rock climbing, hiking, rafting, camping and fishing.
What is life like in North Carolina?
North Carolina is located on the East Coast. The temperature is quite mild and the environment strikingly beautiful. North Carolina residents are generally friendly, warm and welcoming. Life in Carolina is quite affordable too.
As a foreigner, these are some of great things you will be having access to the following:
- Good educational institutions
- A thriving labor market for young professionals
- Friendly Environment
- Low cost of living
- A lot of sailing, hiking and surfing are available for adventure-lovers.
- Excellent health care services are available.
Ten (10) Best Tourist Attractions in North Carolina
Blue Ridge Parkway: It is a 469-mile blue ridge parkway. It was designed by a landscape Architect, Stanley Abbot. There are mountain towns, museums, waterfalls and other beautiful scenes to visit along the parkway. The parkway is mostly crowded with tourists in October.

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville: In this estate is the Vanderbilt Mansion, the largest private home in the United States. There are about 250 rooms in this mansion, with gorgeous artworks. In the estate are beautiful gardens, a large number of funky restaurants, pools and other interesting scenes.

Beaches of the outer banks: People flock to these beaches majorly during summer. You will get to enjoy camping here, tour the lighthouses and visit museums around.
Waterfalls in North Carolina: There are a lot of interesting waterfalls from North Carolina’s Mountains. Examples of this waterfalls include Whitewater falls close to Cashiers, high falls in Dupont State Park.

Downhill Skiing: There are five ski resort of great interest in North Carolina and each of the ski resort has its own vibe. Beech Mountain is the largest ski resort followed by Sugar Mountain.
Battleship North Carolina: This battle ship is a vessel on the sea. It is well armed with a lot of sophisticated guns. The vessel was once the world’s greatest sea weapon.

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences: It is the oldest museum in the state. This museum has both an exploration center and research center. Both are filled with exhibits, learning opportunities and educational presentations.

North Carolina Aquarium: The aquarium is present in four locations: Roanoke Island, Pine Knoll shores, Fort Fisher and Jennette’s Pier. You will get to find some aquatic animals in their natural habitat.

North Carolina Zoo: This zoo is located in Asheboro. You get to find different species of animals from Africa (e.g. Lions, Zebras, Elephants, etc.) and North America (e.g. elk, black bears, red wolves, roadrunners, etc
Grandfather Mountain: You can get to enjoy hiking, challenging treks and some picnicking here.
Conclusion
North Carolina colleges offer high quality education and are of global repute. If you like to study in any of these universities but you can’t afford the fees, you can take advantage of the different scholarships available in your college of interest. And there are quite a large number of those scholarships, so you don’t have excuse of low funds for not advancing your studies.