Affordable Private Colleges in North Carolina
Private nonprofit four-year colleges, ranked by net price after aid. Their sticker prices are the highest and their discounts are the deepest, so the published tuition tells you very little.
35 private colleges in North Carolina are listed here, 35 of them reporting a net price. They run from $13,090 a year at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary to $41,555 at Elon University, with a middle of about $20,894.
The cheapest are Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Livingstone College and Chowan University. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is where to start.
Private colleges in North Carolina, cheapest first · 35
Average net price per year after grants and scholarships, with the share of students on federal Pell grants where reported. Schools publishing no net price are listed last.
- Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Livingstone College
- Chowan University
- Shaw University
- Davidson College
- North Carolina Wesleyan University
- Cabarrus College of Health Sciences
- Gardner-Webb University
- Catawba College
- Greensboro College
- Salem College
- University of Mount Olive
- Pfeiffer University
- Mars Hill University
- Lenoir-Rhyne University
- Wingate University
- Carolina University
- Johnson C Smith University
- Warren Wilson College
- William Peace University
- Guilford College
- Meredith College
- Brevard College
- Barton College
- Campbell University
- Belmont Abbey College
- Methodist University
- Montreat College
- Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte
- Lees-McRae College
- Wake Forest University
- Duke University
- Queens University of Charlotte
- High Point University
- Elon University
← All colleges in North Carolina
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable private college in North Carolina?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary at about $13,090 a year. That is an average across all students there; your own cost depends on your family's income, so check the school's net price calculator.
- What is the difference between sticker price and net price?
- Sticker price is the published tuition before any aid. Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted — not loans, which you pay back. Net price is usually far lower, and at expensive private colleges the gap can be tens of thousands a year, which is why every figure on this page is net price rather than tuition.
- How much do private colleges in North Carolina cost on average?
- Across the 35 private colleges in North Carolina that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $20,894 a year after aid, running from $13,090 to $41,555.
- What does the Pell grant percentage mean?
- It is the share of undergraduates at that school receiving a federal Pell grant — need-based aid that does not have to be repaid. A higher share usually means the school enrols more students from lower-income families. Across the private colleges listed here it runs from 10% to 82%, with a middle of about 39%. It is the only aid figure the Department of Education publishes per school, so it is the only one shown.
Which of these actually fits you?
A list is a starting point, not an answer. Two minutes of questions gives you a shortlist ranked on cost, academics, size and location — with the reaches labelled honestly.
Find your match — free