The 2027 U.S. News Best Colleges Report has officially been released, featuring Texas A&M University dropping eight spots from the previous rankings.
U.S. News adopted various new criteria and scales that weigh heavily on a university's overall score, impacting where it ranks on the list. The 2025 Carnegie Classification system is now being used, which re-sorts institutions into categories. According to U.S. News and World Report, about one-in-five schools changed categories nationally, meaning some movement reflects the new comparison pool rather than performance. The site also says the 2027 college rankings should not be directly compared with prior editions because of this change. That is not the biggest change with the criteria and scoring,
however.
Graduate indebtedness has been replaced by earnings by major, which is worth five percent of a school's overall score. It uses federal college scorecard data to compare earnings among graduates about four years after graduation with earnings of graduates in similar fields.
Among all the universities in the Southeastern Conference, the University of Alabama saw the greatest increase, moving from tied at No. 169 to tied at No. 156. Meanwhile, Texas A&M's in-state rival, the University of Texas, continues to jump forward as one of the top universities in the country.
Here is where each SEC university ranks compared to others in the conference in the latest U.S. News and World Report national rankings:
No. 16: Mississippi State University (Starkville, Miss.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 208 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 208 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 19,093
- Acceptance rate: 96%
- Tuition and fees: $10,995
Test scores
- SAT range: 1000-1240
- ACT range: 21-29
- High school GPA: 3.7
No. 15: Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 202 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 169 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 35,248
- Acceptance rate: 69%
- Tuition and fees: $12,966
Test scores
- SAT range: 1160-1330
- ACT range: 25-30
- High school GPA: 3.9
No. 14: University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 191 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 183 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 29,252
- Acceptance rate: 74%
- Tuition and fees: $10,916
Test scores
- SAT range: 1020-1220
- ACT range: 20-27
- High school GPA: 3.8
No. 13: University of Mississippi (Oxford, Miss.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 179 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 169 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 22,936
- Acceptance rate: 97%
- Tuition and fees: $10,438
Test scores
- SAT range: 970-1190
- ACT range: 21-29
- High school GPA: 3.6
No. 12: University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 156 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 169 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 35,621
- Acceptance rate: 71%
- Tuition and fees: $13,094
Test scores
- SAT range: 1160-1410
- ACT range: 24-31
- High school GPA: 3.9
No. 11: University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 148 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 149 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 27,386
- Acceptance rate: 94%
- Tuition and fees: $14,177
Test scores
- SAT range: 1050-1280
- ACT range: 21-28
- High school GPA: 3.6
No. 10: University of South Carolina (Columbia, S.C.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 121 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 127 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 31,845
- Acceptance rate: 57%
- Tuition and fees: $12,688
Test scores
- SAT range: 1190-1370
- ACT range: 26-32
- High school GPA: 3.7
No. 9. University of Oklahoma (Norman, Okla.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 116 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 110 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 25,054
- Acceptance rate: 78%
- Tuition and fees: $10,181
Test scores
- SAT range: 1140-1310
- ACT range: 23-28
- High school GPA: 3.6
No. 8: University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 109 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 102 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 32,041
- Acceptance rate: 44%
- Tuition and fees: $14,024
Test scores
- SAT range: 1270-1400
- ACT range: 26-31
- High school GPA: 3.8
No. 7: Auburn University (Auburn, Ala.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 100 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 102 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 25,141
- Acceptance rate: 76%
- Tuition and fees: $16,162
Test scores
- SAT range: 1270-1400
- ACT range: 27-31
- High school GPA: N/A
No. 6: University of Missouri (Columbia, Mo.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 95 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 102 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 28,953
- Acceptance rate: 47%
- Tuition and fees: $13,572
Test scores
- SAT range: 1170-1350
- ACT range: 23-30
- High school GPA: N/A
No. 5: Texas A&M University (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
Academics
- Current ranking: 59 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 51 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 62,031
- Acceptance rate: 52%
- Tuition and fees: $12,878
Test scores
- SAT range: 1150-1400
- ACT range: 24-32
- High school GPA: N/A
No. 4: University of Georgia (Athens, Ga.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 52 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 46 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 32,824
- Acceptance rate: 34%
- Tuition and fees: $11,628
Test scores
- SAT range: 1310-1500
- ACT range: 30-34
- High school GPA: 3.9
Tied for No. 2: University of Florida (Gainesville, Fla.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 34 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 30 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 37,283
- Acceptance rate: 20%
- Tuition and fees: $6,436
Test scores
- SAT range: 1330-1490
- ACT range: 29-33
- High school GPA: 3.9
Tied for No. 2: University of Texas (Austin, Texas)
Academics
- Current ranking: 34 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 30 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 44,314
- Acceptance rate: 22%
- Tuition and fees: $11,656
Test scores
- SAT range: 1200-1470
- ACT range: 26-33
- High school GPA: 3.9
No. 1: Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.)
Academics
- Current ranking: 16 (tie)
- Previous ranking: 17 (tie)
- Undergraduate enrollment: 7,366
- Acceptance rate: 5%
- Tuition and fees: $73,206
Test scores
- SAT range: 1510-1560
- ACT range: 34-35
- High school GPA: 3.9
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: SEC schools ranked academically by U.S. News for 2027
