The University of Georgia was recently ranked No. 9 on the latest list of Top Public Universities in the U.S. by the rankings platform Niche.
The 2024 ranking, which was released Aug. 28, is based on Niche’s analysis of academic, admissions, financial and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education. The ranking compares more than 500 public colleges and state universities.
“The latest Niche ranking solidifying the University of Georgia’s position as a top national public university is yet another testament to the incredible work happening across UGA,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Our continued strategic investments in faculty hiring and enhancements of the living and learning experience for our undergraduate students are clearly making a very positive impact.”
In addition to the overall university ranking, UGA received top-10 rankings in a number of other categories including student life, academics, value, diversity and athletics:
- Best Student Life in America – No. 3
- Best Colleges for Business in America – No. 5
- Best Colleges for Sports Management in America – No. 5
- Best Colleges for Accounting and Finance in America – No. 6
- Best Greek Life Colleges in America – No. 6
- Best Colleges for Communications in America – No. 7
- Best Colleges for Agricultural Sciences in America – No. 7
- Best College Athletics in America – No. 9
UGA’s retention rate—the percentage of students returning for their second year of studies—is 94%. The vast majority of UGA students finish their degrees on time: 75% of students complete their degrees within four years, and 88% of students complete their degrees within six years. These completion rates far exceed those of UGA’s peer institutions.
Of the students who graduated in the class of 2022, 96% percent were employed, attending graduate school or engaged in postgraduate internships within six months of graduation, according to career outcomes data released by the UGA Career Center.
The university also recently welcomed one of its largest and most academically qualified freshman classes. More than 6,200 new first-year students started classes this fall, selected from a record number of 43,500 applications. This class has an average high school GPA of 4.13, the seventh consecutive year that the average weighted high school GPA of the entering students exceeds 4.0. The class of 2027 also posts an average ACT score of 30 and an average SAT score of 1339.
The top public institution on the Niche ranking this year was UCLA. The University of Florida is the only other SEC school in the top 10, which also includes the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
