Which NC colleges have the best party scenes, athletics? Here’s what NYT rankings say

There are lots of factors to consider when choosing which college to attend, including campus life for students — which could include things like the school’s athletics programs, diversity and yes, the social and partying scenes.

Is there one factor you value above the rest? Or do you have several factors you’d weigh equally in your search?

A new interactive tool from The New York Times, released Monday, is allowing users to pick the factors they value most to generate individualized rankings of “the best American colleges — for you.” Using the tool’s interactive sliders, users can assign weights to 10 separate factors that consider campus life, academics, cost of attendance and post-graduation income earnings, among other factors.

The Times’ analysis and interactive tool include rankings of nearly 900 colleges in the U.S., including 26 in North Carolina, both public and private.

Below, we’ve considered six factors to be part of a larger picture of campus life at each North Carolina college: athletics, party scene, campus safety, racial diversity, economic diversity and academics.

Wondering where North Carolina colleges rank for each of these factors? We’ve broken down The Times’ rankings here.

NC colleges with best athletics

The Times’ rankings and scores of college athletics programs factor in data, such as program revenue and national championships, and self-reported student surveys compiled by Niche.com, The Times’ explanation of its methodology says.

According to those measures, The Times’ rankings say, Duke University ranks No. 1 in North Carolina for athletics. Duke also ranked No. 14 nationally for this factor, followed by UNC-Chapel Hill at No. 15 nationally and No. 2 in North Carolina.

The Times’ full rankings of athletic programs at North Carolina colleges and universities is:

1. Duke University

2. UNC-Chapel Hill

3. Appalachian State University

4. Queens University

5. Lenoir-Rhyne University

6. Wingate University

7. N.C. State University

8. Barton College

9. Davidson College

10. Winston-Salem State University

11. Pfeiffer University

12. N.C. Wesleyan College

13. East Carolina University

14. Wake Forest University

15. UNC-Greensboro

16. Gardner-Webb University

17. UNC-Charlotte

18. Lees-McRae College

19. Meredith College

20. Johnson & Wales University

21. Western Carolina University

22. High Point University

23. UNC-Wilmington

24. UNC-Asheville

25. Elon University

26. Warren Wilson College

NC colleges with best party scenes

The Times’ “party scene” factor is based on self-reported student reviews and other nightlife statistics compiled by Niche.com, including access to bars and restaurants near the campus.

Based on those contributing factors, The Times’ tool shows East Carolina University in Greenville as having the best party scene of colleges in North Carolina.

The Times’ full ranking of North Carolina colleges based on party scenes is:

1. East Carolina University

2. Winston-Salem State University

3. Duke University

4. UNC-Chapel Hill

5. Elon University

6. Wake Forest University

7. Appalachian State University

8. N.C. State University

9. UNC-Wilmington

10. UNC-Charlotte

11. UNC-Greensboro

12. Western Carolina University

13. Davidson College

14. Lenoir-Rhyne University

15. High Point University

16. N.C. Wesleyan College

17. Pfeiffer University

18. Johnson & Wales University

19. Barton College

20. Wingate University

21. Warren Wilson College

22. Queens University

23. UNC-Asheville

24. Meredith College

25. Gardner-Webb University

26. Lees-McRae College

NC colleges with best campus safety

The Times’ campus safety factor is based on self-reported student surveys and data from the U.S. Department of Education compiled by Niche.com. Niche’s description of the analysis says colleges with top rankings for campus safety “offer a safe and healthy environment with little or no campus crime, drugs, or alcohol usage.”

According to The Times’ rankings, Gardner-Webb University, a private university in Boiling Springs, has the best campus safety of colleges and universities in North Carolina.

The Times’ full ranking of North Carolina colleges based on campus safety is:

1. Gardner-Webb University

2. Davidson College

3. N.C. Wesleyan College

4. Meredith College

5. Queens University

6. Appalachian State University

7. Pfeiffer University

8. High Point University

9. Duke University

10. Elon University

11. UNC-Wilmington

12. UNC-Asheville

13. Western Carolina University

14. Barton College

15. N.C. State University

16. UNC-Greensboro

17. Johnson & Wales University

18. Lees-McRae College

19. Winston-Salem State University

20. Lenoir-Rhyne University

21. East Carolina University

22. UNC-Charlotte

23. Wake Forest University

24. UNC-Chapel Hill

25. Wingate University

26. Warren Wilson College

NC colleges with most racial diversity

The Times’ racial diversity factor is “an index based on the racial composition of the undergraduate population as reported to the Department of Education.” The data reflects the racial composition at each university during the 2021-2022 academic year, The Times’ explanation of its methodology says.

According to The Times’ interactive tool, Duke University ranks the highest for racial diversity of colleges and universities in North Carolina.

The Times’ full ranking of North Carolina colleges and universities according to their racial diversity is:

1. Duke University

2. UNC-Greensboro

3. N.C. Wesleyan College

4. Wingate University

5. Johnson & Wales University

6. UNC-Charlotte

7. Queens University

8. UNC-Chapel Hill

9. Barton College

10. Pfeiffer University

11. Gardner-Webb University

12. Meredith College

13. East Carolina University

14. Davidson College

15. Lenoir-Rhyne University

16. N.C. State University

17. Wake Forest University

18. UNC-Asheville

19. Lees-McRae College

20. Warren Wilson College

21. High Point University

22. UNC-Wilmington

23. Western Carolina University

24. Winston-Salem State University

25. Elon University

26. Appalachian State University

NC colleges with most economic diversity

The Times’ economic diversity factor uses data from a 2017 analysis that “tried to determine which schools in America were most successful at helping students from low-income families reach the upper classes.” The specific data used looks “at the household income of the students attending each college,” with schools “with a more even distribution of students from all income levels” scoring higher in this factor.

According to The Times, N.C. Wesleyan College, a private college in Rocky Mount, is the most economically diverse college in North Carolina.

The Times’ full ranking of North Carolina colleges and universities according to economic diversity is:

1. N.C. Wesleyan College

2. Johnson & Wales University

3. Winston-Salem State University

4. Pfeiffer University

5. Lees-McRae College

6. Barton College

7. Gardner-Webb University

8. High Point University

9. Western Carolina University

10. UNC-Greensboro

11. Lenoir-Rhyne University

12. Wingate University

13. UNC-Asheville

14. UNC-Charlotte

15. East Carolina University

16. Queens University

17. Warren Wilson College

18. Appalachian State University

19. UNC-Wilmington

20. Meredith College

21. N.C. State University

22. UNC-Chapel Hill

23. Elon University

24. Duke University

25. Wake Forest University

26. Davidson College

NC colleges with best academic profile

The Times’ “academic profile” factor considers the graduation rates, SAT and ACT scores and student-to-faculty ratio at each university.

Duke University ranks No. 1 in North Carolina for the university’s academic profile, according to The Times’ analysis. Duke also ranks No. 5 nationally for this factor.

The Times’ full ranking of North Carolina colleges based on academic profiles is:

1. Duke University

2. Davidson College

3. Wake Forest University

4. UNC-Chapel Hill

5. N.C. State University

6. Elon University

7. Warren Wilson College

8. UNC-Wilmington

9. Queens University

10. Appalachian State University

11. UNC-Asheville

12. Meredith College

13. High Point University

14. Johnson & Wales University

15. Western Carolina University

16. Gardner-Webb University

17. Lees-McRae College

18. UNC-Charlotte

19. Lenoir-Rhyne University

20. East Carolina University

21. Wingate University

22. Barton College

23. UNC-Greensboro

24. Pfeiffer University

25. N.C. Wesleyan College

26. Winston-Salem State University

See full NYT rankings of NC colleges

Want to create your own rankings of colleges and universities using The New York Times’ interactive tool? Visit nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/27/opinion/build-your-own-college-rankings.html.

Additional information about The Times’ methodology in creating the toll is available at nytimes.com/2023/03/27/opinion/how-build-your-own-college-rankings-was-built.html.