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2023 Best General Education Colleges for Veterans in Virginia

9 Ranked Colleges
918 Degrees Awarded
$33,500 Avg Cost*
Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education

When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

General Education is the 31st most popular major in the country with 29,810 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across Virginia, there were 918 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in general education. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general education programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general education program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education

The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia vets studying general education.

Top 9 Best General Education Colleges for Veterans in Virginia

1

Out of the 9 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #1 spot on the list. VCU is a large public school situated in Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 116 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.

VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, VCU supports 29,070 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 2 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $13,085. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. VCU offers credit for military training for eligible students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read More…

2
JMU crest
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend James Madison University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education list. Harrisonburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s general education degrees to 295 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at JMU, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 21,594 students enrolled at James Madison University, 842 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 464 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,824. During this same period, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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3
University of Virginia crest
University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education. University of Virginia - Main Campus is a large school located in Charlottesville, Virginia that handed out 159 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our virginia vets studying general education list, University of Virginia has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 3 of the 25,628 students enrolled at University of Virginia - Main Campus were GI Bill® students, of which 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Virginia]](/colleges/university-of-virginia-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)

4
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Liberty University. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education. Liberty University is a large school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 93 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.

Liberty University also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Liberty University supports 93,349 students, and 13,282 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 8,897 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,888. On top of their other funding sources, 386 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Liberty University offers credit for military training for eligible students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Liberty University]](/colleges/liberty-university/student-life/veterans/)

5
GMU crest
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, this large public school awarded 27 degrees to qualified ’s general education students in 2020-2021.

GMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 38,541 students enrolled at George Mason University, 2,334 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1,583 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $10,710. During this same period, 42 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. George Mason University offers credit for military training for eligible students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read More…

6
Longwood crest
Longwood University
Farmville, Virginia

Longwood University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education ranking, coming in at #6. Farmville, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s general education degrees to 75 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Longwood, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 4,841 students enrolled at Longwood, 1 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read More…

7
Radford crest
Radford University
Radford, Virginia

Radford University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education list. Radford is a medium-sized school located in Radford, Virginia that handed out 38 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.

Radford also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Among the 10,695 students enrolled at Radford, 460 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 225 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,142. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Full Radford Veteran Student Life Report

8
UMW crest
University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, Virginia

University of Mary Washington came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education ranking. Fredericksburg, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s general education degrees to 75 students in 2020-2021.

UMW not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, University of Mary Washington supports 4,293 students, and 47 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 39 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,578. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Mary Washington does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Mary Washington]](/colleges/university-of-mary-washington/student-life/veterans/)

9
Shenandoah crest
Shenandoah University
Winchester, Virginia

Shenandoah University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for General Education list. Shenandoah University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Winchester, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 24 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Shenandoah not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 222 of the 4,174 students enrolled at Shenandoah University were GI Bill® students, of which 133 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $16,576. To help with additional expenses, 36 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

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Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

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