Best large colleges in North Carolina

Colleges with 10,000 or more undergraduates, ranked by Compass Score.

Best large colleges in North Carolina9 schools

9 schools qualify, ranked by the Compass Score.

How this list is made

Schools in North Carolina.
Accredited four-year undergraduate colleges.
10,000 or more undergraduate students (federal enrollment).
Each school needs a complete Compass Score, so every row shows a rating.
Ordered by Compass Score, highest first. Schools with the same score share a rank.

Updated Oct. 20, 2026. Methodology. Spot an error? Send a correction.

School	Net price a year	Median debt	Earnings 10 years out	Graduation rate
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	$11,655	$14,000	$72,200	91%
North Carolina State University at Raleigh	$17,303	$20,121	$68,758	85%
University of North Carolina Wilmington	$20,109	$19,500	$54,967	71%
Appalachian State University	$16,836	$20,231	$51,836	75%
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	$15,435	$21,500	$57,289	69%
East Carolina University	$15,739	$22,750	$55,146	63%
Western Carolina University	$13,315	$21,868	$49,458	60%
University of North Carolina at Greensboro	$10,965	$22,858	$48,160	56%
North Carolina A & T State University	$10,846	$27,000	$44,440	57%

Net price is the average yearly cost after grants. Federal data (College Scorecard). “—” means the school reports no figure.