Video: What items to bring for a Clemson football tailgate party
Hayes Engram of ACE Hardware in Clemson show several items people bring to tailgate parties at Clemson University football games.
2025’s U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings are in, giving high schoolers the opportunity to learn up on schools they may have not considered attending before.
Two South Carolina colleges were named among the national rankings, with Clemson University leading the state at ranking No. 80. The University of South Carolina was also among the national rankings at No. 121.
If you are wondering if your college ranked among the best, there are other lists where S.C. schools appeared, like the national liberal arts and regional colleges/universities lists.
Here’s what to know about the rankings.
This year’s report rankings did not undergo any substantial changes from last year’s methodology. This means many of the top rankings from last year remain the same or similar. However, there are over 25 articles provided this year breaking down the methodologies used to determine the rankings. Borrower debt, first-year retention/graduation rates, financial resources, faculty resources/salaries, and the number of college grads earning more than a high school graduate were some of the factors used to rank colleges.
Clemson University ranked No. 80 out of 436 national universities, noted for its average six-year graduation rate of 86% and 16:1 student faculty ratio. It also ranked No. 39 in the categories Top public Schools, No. 48 in Best Colleges for Veterans, No. 54 in Nursing, and No. 57 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs. Clemson’s current acceptance rate is 38%, making it a competitive university to get into.
The University of South Carolina ranked No. 121 out of 436 national universities. It also ranked No. 1 in International Business, No. 2 in First-Year Experiences, No. 10 in Learning Communities, and No. 39 in Nursing. The school has a 69% four-year graduate rate and 19:1 student/faculty ratio. Currently, the university’s acceptance rate is 61%.
∎ No. 45: Furman University
∎ No. 66: Wofford College
∎ No. 147: Presbyterian College
∎ No. 153: Claflin University
∎ No. 1: The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
∎ No. 7: University of South Carolina-Upstate
∎ No. 9: College of Charleston
∎ No. 12: Winthrop University
∎ No 17: Bob Jones University
∎ No. 29: Columbia International University
∎ No. 34: Anderson University – Tie
Coastal Carolina University – Tie
North Greenville University – Tie
∎ No. 41: Columbia College (SC)
∎ No. 14: Lander University
∎ No. 15: Newberry College
∎ No. 34: North Greenville University
∎ No. 38: University of South Carolina-Beaufort
∎ No. 46: Erskine College
∎ No. 68: Voorhees University
∎ No. 73: Coker University
∎ No. 76: Limestone University
∎ No. 80: Benedict College
∎ No. 83: Morris College
∎ No. 1: Princeton University, New Jersey
∎ No. 2: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
∎ No. 3: Harvard University, Massachusetts
∎ No. 4: Stanford University, California
∎ No. 5: Yale University, Connecticut
∎ No. 6: California Institute of Technology – Tie
Duke University, North Carolina – Tie
Johns Hopkins University, Maryland – Tie
Northwestern University, Illinois – Tie
∎ No. 10: University of Pennsylvania
∎ No. 11: Cornell University, New York – Tie
University of Chicago, Illinois – Tie
∎ No. 13: Brown University, Rhode Island – Tie
Columbia University, New York – Tie
∎ No. 15: Dartmouth College, New Hampshire – Tie
University of California, Los Angeles – Tie
∎ No. 17 – University of California, Berkeley
∎ No. 18: Rice University, Texas – Tie
University of Notre Dame, Indiana – Tie
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee – Tie
∎ No. 1: Williams College, Massachusetts
∎ No. 2: Amherst College, Massachusetts
∎ No. 3: Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania
∎ No. 4: United States Naval Academy, Maryland
∎ No. 5: Bowdoin College, Minnesota – Tie
Pomona College, California – Tie
∎ No. 7: Wellesley College, Massachusetts
∎ No. 8: Carleton College, Minnesota – Tie
Claremont McKenna College, California – Tie
United States Air Force Academy, Colorado – Tie
United States Military Academy at West Point, New York – Tie
∎ No. 12 – Harvey Mudd College, California – Tie
Vassar College, New York – Tie
∎ No. 14 – Barnard College, New York – Tie
Davidson College, North Carolina – Tie
Hamilton College, New York – Tie
Smith College, Massachusetts – Tie
Wesleyan University, Connecticut – Tie
∎ No. 19: Grinnell College, Iowa – Tie
Middlebury College, Vermont – Tie
Washington and Lee University, Virginia – Tie
Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com.
