‘A Hidden Gem’: West Virginia Wesleyan College named among best in region by U.S. News and World Report, The Princeton Review

Building on a 134-year mission of academic excellence, service to others and equipping leaders, West Virginia Wesleyan College continues to gain recognition in prestigious college rankings. The college was ranked among the top 10 for Best Value in the South in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Colleges and is listed as one of the Best Regional Colleges by The Princeton Review.

In the U.S. News & World Report rankings, the college was ninth for Best Value among Regional Colleges in the South and 30th overall in the same area. West Virginia Wesleyan College was the only West Virginia higher education institution to earn a Best Value Ranking.

West Virginia Wesleyan is also listed as one of the Top Performers on Social Mobility, which assesses how well schools graduate students who received federal Pell Grants.

Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing John Waltz said, “We’ve experienced two consecutive years of overall growth, over 10% in that time. With West Virginia freshman enrollment up 20% and a 40% growth in graduate enrollment, it is clear that students and families value a Wesleyan education and recognize it as the premiere education in our region. West Virginia Wesleyan continues to provide critical solutions to market needs.”

In determining Best Value Schools, U.S. News & World Report considered academic quality and cost after accounting for total expenses and financial aid.

More than 95 percent of WVWC students receive financial aid in the form of scholarships. WVWC awards academic scholarships up to $18,000 per year, which can be combined with co-curricular scholarships (athletics, creative arts, community service), the West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship, and all outside scholarships obtained by incoming students.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings follow the college’s listing in the ‘Best in the Mid-Atlantic’ section of The Princeton Review’s “2025 Best Colleges: Region by Region” publication.

College Raptor, a leading college planning platform, also selected West Virginia Wesleyan College as one of its Hidden Gem Colleges in the Southeast, based on graduation rates, retention, student-to-faculty ratio, endowment per student and other metrics via the National Center for Education Statistics.

West Virginia Wesleyan College will host Fall Open Houses on October 26 and November 16, giving prospective students the opportunity to discover how they can find their place at their Home Among the Hills. For more information, visit www.wvwc.edu.