Top 6 Picks for the Best Public Universities in the United States

While the discussion of the nation's "best" colleges typically focuses on top private schools such as those in the Ivy League, some of the best schools in the nation are in fact large, private universities.

The best public universities on this list have these qualities in common:

• They are large public universities, with thousands of students in each class
• they are typically much cheaper than comparable private schools and
• they host some of the top academic programs in the United States.

     1.    University of California at Berkeley

Berkeley has the strongest academic reputation among all schools in the prestigious University of California system. This architecturally diverse school near San Francisco boasts a number of Nobel Prize winners and other famous graduates and faculty.

With its well-known reputation for political activism, Berkeley is also one of the nation's most liberal schools. Berkeley served as a focal point for 1960s college campus radicalism.
 

     2.     University of Michigan

Academically, the University of Michigan is probably the Midwest's strongest state school, although it receives plenty of competition from several of its Big Ten brethren. 

Located in the idyllic large campus town of Ann Arbor, Michigan offers its students a top-notch education across a wide range of fields. Some of Michigan's most interesting programs are the Honors College and its undergraduate business college. Admission is much more difficult for those from out of state.
 

     3.     University of California at Los Angeles

Despite its glitzy Los Angeles location--UCLA is situated between Bel Air and Beverly Hills--this university is easily among the strongest in the United States. Famous for fields as wide-ranging as Film and Engineering, UCLA offers a powerful and world-renowned education to California's top high school graduates.
 

     4.     University of Virginia

The University of Virginia was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who considered it one of his most impressive accomplishments. Indeed, 200 years later, the University remains one of the most prestigious public schools in the country.

UVA consistently ranks near the top of all colleges in the production of Rhodes Scholars and other top academic achievers. Its diverse student body includes everyone from rural Virginans to top value-seeking scholars from throughout the country.
 

     5.     University of Wisconsin

After Michigan (although many would argue even that), the University of Wisconsin offers probably the academically strongest public education of any state school in the Midwest. Despite its enormous size and freezing cold winters, The University of Wisconsin offers a tremendous education with nearly unparalleled breadth of resources and course offerings. Not surprisingly, Wisconsin has an unusually high proportion of students who are drawn in from other states.
 

     6.     University of North Carolina

The University of North Carolina is located in Chapel Hill, and sometimes finds itself in the shadow its basketball-obsessed neighbor--Duke. But while Duke is a private university, UNC is public with a reputation that nearly matches that of its rival.

It is perhaps UNC's reputation as one of the South's top public universities (and best values) that makes it so difficult for out-of-state applicants to gain admissions. Famously, it can seem impossible to get one of UNC's out-of-state slots.