College Guides

The Princeton Review

The College of Charleston is among a select group of institutions chosen by The Princeton Review for offering students the best values for their education:

Guide to College Visits

Personal attention is the name of the game at the College of Charleston. The College's students love the fact that at this mid-sized school (which has an undergrad population of about 10,000) they get to know their profs as people as well as teachers.

America's Best Value Colleges

Academically, students boast that their Charleston experience is anything but the public university stereotype, with six specialized colleges to choose from and lots of student-professor interaction. What’s more, programs like the Honors College offer especially gifted students extra discussion classes and perks like priority registration.

The Best 368 Colleges

When surveyed, here’s what our students had to say about the College of Charleston:

You get “a private school atmosphere with a public school cost.”
Professors are “totally available and oftentimes brilliant” and offer “many opportunities to help”
Science and pre-med programs are singled out as being particularly solid, and strong academics also abound “especially in upper level classes.”

Student comments also landed us among the top 15 “Great College Towns”

The Princeton Review says,
“It’s satisfaction guaranteed at the College of Charleston.”
“Prime location and relatively low tuition make admissions at College of Charleston quite competitive.”
“Expect more personalized treatment here than you would receive from Clemson or the University of South Carolina.”

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report ranks the College of Charleston #4 among southern master’s-level public universities in America’s Best Colleges.

The magazine also placed the College of Charleston on their “Up and Coming Schools to Watch” list. The College of Charleston was one of eight southern universities that award master’s degrees to make this new list.

Newsweek magazine

Newsweek named the College of Charleston as one of the country’s most interesting schools.

Barron's Best Buys in College Education

The College of Charleston is rated a “Best Buy” in the newest edition of Barron’s Best Buys in College Education.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine

The College of Charleston ranks in the top 14 percent of the nation's public universities in providing a "first-rate education without breaking the bank," according to Kiplinger's "Best Values in Public Colleges," as of January 2008.

2008 Fiske Guide to Colleges

Whether sampling the traditional Lowcountry cuisine or delving into the wide range of courses offered at this strong liberal arts institution, students at the College of Charleston know they are getting a solid education based on creative expression and intellectual freedom.

“This place is amazing, unique, cultural, historical, modern, and it feels like home, all at the same time,” says a senior.

Forbes Magazine

The College of Charleston was included in Forbes.com’s inaugural ranking of America’s Best Colleges, which considered institutions based on quality education and student achievement.