UNC tops list of best four-year colleges in NC, according to new rank

Schools.com, a website that provides information on colleges and universities across the country, handed UNC the No. 1 slot for its freshman retention and graduation rates. The site also noted the university's high percentage of students who paid off their student debt.

"UNC Chapel Hill took the No. 1 spot among schools on our list for both its freshman retention rate and its graduation rate," the website wrote. "Its proportion of non-repay financial aid awarded to students ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 5 out of the 1,600­+ schools we surveyed nationwide. Students at UNC Chapel Hill graduated with an average college loan balance right around $16,000 — good for the top spot on our list in that category — and no other school in our top 10 reported a higher percentage of alumni who paid off their student debt within three years of graduation."

North Carolina State University earned the second spot, and Appalachian State University in Boone took third.