Sun Belt Schools Ranked Academically

The Sun Belt is a Division I athletic conference consisting of schools from a wide geographical swath of the Eastern United States. It has members in the Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic, Appalachia, and Texas.

If you’re considering going to a Sun Belt school and wondering how they stack up against each other, this guide is for you. Below, we list the Sun Belt schools ranked academically and give our reasons for each ranking.

The 14 schools of the Sun Belt conference.

Sun Belt Schools Ranked Academically From Best to Worst

Sun Belt Schools Ranked Academically From Best to Worst

The Sun Belt has 14 schools. All have their benefits, and you can get a fantastic education at any of them. Like we say over and over again here at College Jaguar, your success in college is based far more on what you put into it than on where you go to school.

One benefit of the Sun Belt schools is that none are brutally difficult to get into. All have acceptance rates of 60 percent or higher, and many of them accept more than 90 percent of their applicants.

That said, the 14 schools of the Sun Belt aren’t equal in terms of their academic reputations or the quality of their incoming students (as measured by high school grades, test scores, and other achievements). This guide ranks the Sun Belt schools academically from 1 to 14.

#1: James Madison University

Location: Harrisonburg, VA
U.S. News ranking: #124 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 78%
Middle 50% SAT range: 1,140-1320
Middle 50% ACT range: 23-29
Graduation rate: 83%

James Madison University is rocketing up the rankings faster than any other school in the Sun Belt. For decades, it was considered a safety school in Virginia, a landing spot for kids who got waitlisted or rejected from schools like UVA, William & Mary, and Virginia Tech. Residents even joked that the real meaning of JMU is “Just Missed UVA.”

Today, JMU is becoming a top choice for many students from the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Its picturesque campus, rising athletic profile, academic rigor, and robust social scene are making it a popular draw for kids from all over the region.

With an acceptance rate of 78%, JMU is still not too hard to get into, but that may be changing soon. Its 82% graduation rate is by far the best in the Sun Belt.

#2: Appalachian State University

Location: Boone, NC
U.S. News ranking: #3 in Regional Universities South
Acceptance rate: 83%
Middle 50% SAT range: 1,100-1,270
Middle 50% ACT range: 21-27
Graduation rate: 74%

App State's campus in Boone, North Carolina. — App State’s campus in Boone, North Carolina.

Appalachian State is another Sun Belt school on the rise. If you want to live the mountain lifestyle in college, few places are better than Boone, North Carolina. All the hiking, climbing, and mountain biking you can handle is right in your backyard, and several popular ski slopes are an hour or so from campus.

The sheer number of quality colleges and universities in the state of North Carolina — besides the top publics like UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State, there’s also Duke, Wake Forest, and Davidson, just to name a few — used to cause App State to get lost in the shuffle. But in-state students as well as out-of-state students are beginning to discover this formerly hidden gem.

#3: Georgia State University

Location: Atlanta, GA
U.S. News ranking: #227 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 61%
Middle 50% SAT range: 940-1,190
Middle 50% ACT range: 19-26
Graduation rate: 55%

For decades, Georgia State was nothing more than a commuter school in a less-than-desirable part of downtown Atlanta. Its graduation rate and freshman retention rate were abysmal, as most students didn’t stick around for more than a semester or two.

But as UGA has gotten more and more difficult to get into in recent years, schools like Georgia State have reaped the benefits, picking up thousands of students who 20-30 years ago would have been Bulldogs.

As a result, the campus has built over a dozen new dorms — many of which are among the nicest in the country — and worked with the city to revitalize the neighborhood around campus. Most freshmen now live on campus rather than commute from home, and the graduation rate is up to 55% and climbing.

#4: Texas State University

Location: San Marcos, TX
U.S. News ranking: #280 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 88%
Middle 50% SAT range: 980-1,180
Middle 50% ACT range: 19-26
Graduation rate: 56%

Texas State is another Sun Belt school that is fast growing and fast rising in the rankings. It is in the process of trying to transition from a regional to a national university. It even changed its name in 2013 to reflect that goal. For the preceding decade, it was known as Texas State University—San Marcos, and for 40-plus years before that, it was called Southwest Texas State University.

By rebranding itself as Texas State, the school hopes to eventually become Texas’s third flagship institution, alongside the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University.

Texas State is known as a bit of a party school, but its academics are on the rise. Its journalism school turns out many graduates who go on to have successful careers in the media. The university also sends a high percentage of students to law school and business school.

#5: Marshall University

Location: Huntington, WV
U.S. News ranking: #332 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 91%
Middle 50% SAT range: 910-1,140
Middle 50% ACT range: 18-24
Graduation rate: 51%

Marshall University might be most known for Randy Moss and for a horrific plane crash in 1970 that killed its football team after an away game at East Carolina. But the school deserves more credit for its academic quality and for its picturesque campus along the Ohio River in Huntington, West Virginia.

Marshall is still a bit of a commuter school, and its graduation rate could use some work. But the school has highly ranked programs in journalism and marketing. The alumni network is strong for such a regional school. Graduates have a deep affinity for their alma mater.

#6: Old Dominion University

Location: Norfolk, VA
U.S. News ranking: #280 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 95%
Middle 50% SAT range: 1,090-1,250
Middle 50% ACT range: 22-27
Graduation rate: 51%

Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia

Old Dominion is another Virginia institution that, like James Madison University, has benefited in recent years from the sheer difficulty of getting into UVA. Whereas it was once primarily a commuter school for students from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, it now draws students from all over the state and beyond.

ODU offers a number of benefits over other public universities in Virginia. One, the campus is close to Virginia Beach, one of the most underrated beaches in America.

Two, while it isn’t exactly a small school, it doesn’t have an overwhelming student body size. With fewer than 20,000 undergraduates on campus, you won’t feel like a number or just a face in the crowd.

Finally, ODU is a school you can get into even if your high school record isn’t pristine. It accepts 96 percent of its applicants.

#7: University of Southern Mississippi

Location: Hattiesburg, MS
U.S. News ranking: #352 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 99%
Middle 50% SAT range: Not reported
Middle 50% ACT range: 19-27
Graduation rate: 50%

USM’s location in Hattiesburg offers a unique blend of Deep South and Cajun culture, along with close proximity to both New Orleans and the state capital of Jackson. Alumni tend to be highly loyal and stay connected to the school.

Southern Mississippi is an underrated school with a lot to offer. Many Mississippi residents consider it a third flagship institution in the state, along with Ole Miss and Mississippi State. It has solid academics across the board but is particularly respected for its programs in English, writing, and music education.

#8: Arkansas State University

Location: Jonesboro, AR
U.S. News ranking: #361 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 70%
Middle 50% SAT range: 980-1,200
Middle 50% ACT range: 19-25
Graduation rate: 51%

Arkansas State is another public university in the process of trying to work its way up from commuter school to flagship. Its location in Jonesboro is not the most exciting place in the world for a college student to be, but the town is slowly adding restaurants, pubs, and other amenities to make it more like a college town than a typical small town in the South.

With a graduation rate of just over 50%, Arkansas State still has some work to do before it can match even the lowest-ranked SEC schools. But it’s moving in the right direction.

#9: Georgia Southern University

Location: Statesboro, GA
U.S. News ranking: #352 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 89%
Middle 50% SAT range: 950-1,150
Middle 50% ACT range: 18-23
Graduation rate: 53%

Georgia Southern, like Georgia State above, has become a more sought-after school as more and more above-average students in Georgia are seeking alternatives after getting rejected or waitlisted by UGA.

The choice between Georgia State in Atlanta and Georgia Southern in Statesboro really comes down to location. Going to Georgia State lets you live more of a city lifestyle than a typical college lifestyle. Statesboro, on the other hand, is more of your classic Southern college town.

Something else kind of unique about Statesboro: It has a line of college bars literally right across the street from the freshman dorms at Southern. This makes it a popular option for students looking to party — and an equally unpopular option for many parents in the state!

#10 (tie): University of Louisiana Lafayette

Location: Lafayette, LA
U.S. News ranking: #345 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 75%
Middle 50% SAT range: 1,125-1,250
Middle 50% ACT range: 23-27
Graduation rate: 51%

The University of Louisiana Lafayette is another school in the process of doing everything possible to raise its stature. It’s currently trying to rebrand itself as simply the “University of Louisiana” (minus the Lafayette) in order to establish itself as a flagship alternative to LSU in Baton Rouge.

That said, for ULL to get to LSU’s level, it needs to work on its graduation rate as well as its incoming student stats, both of which lag far behind the state’s flagship institution.

But for students looking for a smaller, less frenetic environment that still offers a fun sports scene and Southern campus culture, ULL is a strong option in Louisiana.

#10 (tie): University of Louisiana at Monroe

Location: Monroe, LA
U.S. News ranking: #369 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 72%
Middle 50% SAT range: 968-1,333
Middle 50% ACT range: 20-25
Graduation rate: 52%

The University of Louisiana at Monroe is the other campus in the UL system, along with Lafayette. The two schools have similar graduation rates and incoming student stats. We decided to rank them evenly, as they produce similar outcomes and accept similar students.

The biggest thing working against ULM when you compare it to ULL (or LSU for that matter) is its location. Monroe is a small city that is basically in the middle of nowhere. It sits in the dead center of the northern part of the state, about halfway between Shreveport and Jackson, MS. But there’s literally nothing for miles other than the campus, which largely clears out on weekends because so many students commute from their homes in Monroe or other small towns in the area.

#12: Coastal Carolina University

Location: Conway, SC
U.S. News ranking: #36 in Regional Universities South
Acceptance rate: 79%
Middle 50% SAT range: 1,020-1,190
Middle 50% ACT range: 20-25
Graduation rate: 48%

Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC

Coastal Carolina University is a former commuter school near Myrtle Beach that is riding the recent success of its football program. It was long considered an afterthought for college-bound students in South Carolina, most of whom focused on the University of South Carolina, Clemson, and, for those preferring the coastal lifestyle, the College of Charleston.

But Coastal has emerged in recent years as a strong alternative. One unique aspect of the school is that it’s a sea-grant institution. The National Sea Grant College Program is a network of 34 U.S. colleges and universities engaged in ocean research. If you want to study marine biology or a related field, Coastal Carolina is by far the best school in the Sun Belt to do it.

#13: University of South Alabama

Location: Mobile, AL
U.S. News ranking: #382 in National Universities
Acceptance rate: 65%
Middle 50% SAT range: 1,003-1,200
Middle 50% ACT range: 20-26
Graduation rate: 46%

The University of South Alabama is located in Mobile, a city with rich history and Southern culture. It was long considered a commuter campus for kids from Mobile and its suburbs, but these days about two-thirds of freshmen live on campus, so it’s working toward becoming a residential university.

The school appears near the bottom of our rankings because of its poor graduation rate — at 46 percent, it’s the lowest in the Sun Belt — and equally lackluster freshman retention rate: Only 7 out of 10 freshmen return as sophomores each year.

#14: Troy University

Location: Troy, AL
U.S. News ranking: #55 in Regional Universities South
Acceptance rate: 95%
Middle 50% SAT range: 950-1,150
Middle 50% ACT range: 17-24
Graduation rate: 49%

Troy University in Troy, Alabama, is a solid school, but it brings up the rear on our list for a few reasons. First, it’s one of only three Sun Belt schools (the others being South Alabama and Coastal Carolina) that graduate fewer than 50% of students within six years.

Second, the campus has a poor freshman retention rate (74 percent) and is still somewhat of a commuter school, with only about 6 out of 10 freshmen living on campus and fewer than 2 out of 10 students from all classes living on campus.

Third, Troy’s incoming student stats are the lowest in the Sun Belt. A quarter of incoming freshmen who took the ACT scored lower than 17, and only a quarter scored above 24.

Finally, the school’s location isn’t considered desirable to most prospective college students. The campus is in a downtrodden region of the southern part of the state with not much else around it.

That said, just because it has a few negatives working against it based on our criteria doesn’t mean it might not be the perfect fit for you. Many, many students have loved their Troy experience and parlayed the education they received there into excellent careers.