Southern Schools Earn State, National Rankings

Several schools earned notable rankings for 2026 or 2027. Georgia’s Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology was named the state’s top public high school and has held the top spot in Georgia for ten consecutive years. In Raleigh, Saint Mary’s School ranked No. 1 nationally among Christian all-girls boarding schools, while Bob Jones University in South Carolina placed No. 4 among regional universities in the South for best value; the university also reported that 65% of its Class of 2025 graduated with no federal debt. Dalton State College was ranked Georgia’s top public college by U.S. News and No. 1 among the state’s public colleges for student experience by the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse.