These are the smartest colleges in the South

Facebook/Vanderbilt University

We recently ranked the 50 smartest colleges in America based on average standardized test scores.

Jonathan Wai, a Duke University Talent Identification Program research scientist, created the ranking exclusively for Business Insider using the schools' average SAT and ACT scores. (ACT scores were converted to the SAT scale for the purposes of this analysis).

While these tests are often criticized, research shows that both the SAT and ACT are good measures of general cognitive ability, since they rely on a person's ability to reason. Therefore, these scores give a reasonable snapshot of a school’s overall smarts.

We've further broken that list down to highlight the smartest colleges and universities in the South within. Take a look below to see which schools made the cut.

6. College of William and Mary — Average SAT: 1373

5. Washington and Lee University — Average SAT: 1395

4. Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus — Average SAT: 1400

3. Duke University — Average SAT: 1454

2. Rice University — Average SAT: 1460

1. Vanderbilt University — Average SAT: 1481

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