HPU Earns Three #1 Rankings from U.S. News & World Report for Third Consecutive Year
High Point University continues to be recognized for its commitment to innovation and student success, earning three #1 rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges edition. Pictured are students who packed the Nido and Mariana Qubein Center to cheer for a basketball game.
HIGH POINT, N.C., Sept. 23, 2025 – High Point University continues to be recognized for its commitment to innovation and student success, earning three #1 rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges edition. It marks the 14th consecutive year that the university has earned top honors from the U.S. News & World Report and the third straight year that it has received three #1 rankings from the national publication.
In the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, which were released today, HPU is honored as:
- #1 Best Regional College in the South for the 14th consecutive year
- #1 Most Innovative Regional College in the South for the 11th consecutive year
- #1 Best Undergraduate Teaching for Regional Colleges in the South for a third consecutive year
In addition, HPU has jumped to #25 nationally for Best First-Year Experiences after being ranked #50 last fall.
HPU received the latest accolades only a month after it was named the #1 Best-Run College in the nation by The Princeton Review for a second consecutive year. The university received high marks in 12 categories from The Princeton Review, including #2 for Best College Dorms and #9 for Best Career Services.
“We are focused on student success in everything we do at High Point University. We appreciate these national rankings because they recognize the commitment and the hard work of our dedicated faculty and staff,” HPU President Nido Qubein said. “As HPU continues to grow, our mission to prepare students for the world as it will be remains the same.”
The HPU family has plenty of milestones to celebrate during the new academic year. The university welcomed its largest group of new students (1,780) and the largest total enrollment (6,550) in school history this fall. HPU defied national trends by growing its freshman class by 9.4% to 1,671 students.
On Aug. 25, HPU broke ground on the new John and Lorraine Charman Library, a $100 million library that will serve as the university’s flagship library when it opens in 2027. Only a few weeks later, HPU officially opened its two newest academic buildings on campus — a pair of three-story, 77,500-square-foot buildings that house the Workman School of Dental Medicine and the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law.
Furthermore, Qubein has earned the distinction as North Carolina’s longest-serving active college president, having led HPU with vision and dedication for nearly 21 years. While the average tenure for a college president is only 5.9 years, he began serving as HPU’s seventh president in January of 2005 and continues more than two decades later.
