With student and parental concerns about college at a fever pitch, the best advice on today’s top colleges and universities may come from college students themselves.
“They’re the experts of their own experiences,” said Rob Franek, lead author of the Princeton Review’s “Best 388 Colleges for 2023” (Aug. 2022, $24.99). “Things affect students academically and outside the classroom as well.”
The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep and college admissions services company, and in the new guide are two-page profiles of all 388 schools featured, and 50 ranking list categories such as “Most Beautiful Campus” (University of San Diego, Calif.) and “Great Financial Aid” (Vanderbilt University, Tenn.). To produce the ranks, 160,000 students who attend the schools profiled were surveyed.
“Nearly all of our 50 categories of rankings date to 1992, when we debuted our Best Colleges book,” said Franek. “We chose to report rankings in multiple categories instead of one mega-list based solely about academics, because our goal is to help students find the best college for themselves. All of the colleges that make our best colleges book offer outstanding academics, in our opinion. Our lists reveal top schools within our 388 that are standouts based on their own students’ opinions of them — for their career services, financial aid, campus food, dorms and student body characteristics.”
To produce the ranks, Princeton Review surveyed 160,000 students attending the colleges in the book.
“Our 85-question survey asked them to rate their schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences at them on a five-point scale,” said Franek. “We don’t select the students who complete the survey — they choose to do so on their own. We ask the college administrators at the schools to send their students information about the survey and our secure link to participate.”
Princeton Review also surveyed college administrators (including admissions officers) at 656 schools in July 2022, asking them to report on such matters as COVID protocols, admission test policies and enrollment forecasts.
Within the New York area, the United States Military Academy in West Point topped the “Best Student Support and Counseling Services” list. According to surveyed students here, “Academics are hard, but because professors teach only a few sections … they are willing to bend over backwards to accommodate the busy schedules of West Point cadets … any student can succeed if you’re willing to ask for help.
Columbia University in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, received the top spot on the book’s “College City Gets High Marks” list, with Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, Tulane University in Louisiana and American University in Washington DC directly proceeding. It’s hard to disagree, as its location is within one of the world’s most vibrant cities. Admissions officers here say, “After a day of exploring New York City you come home to a traditional college campus within an intimate neighborhood.”
If you’re a sportsman or sportswoman, Fordham University in The Bronx captured the guidebook’s top spot on “Everyone Plays Intramural Sports” list, followed by Providence College in Rhode Island, Clemson University in South Carolina and Brigham Young University in Utah.
And, in case you were wondering, Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, was coined the best school for “Reefer Madness.” Beyond getting high, “This is an active and involved student body, with the average Skidmore student having at least a major and a minor and getting involved in multiple clubs, while probably working more than one job as well,” said the survey.
In another dubious acclaim, yet another New York-based school, Syracuse University, took the highest honor for the, “Lots of Hard Liquor” list, with West Virginia University, Wake Forest University in North Carolina and Union College in Schenectady, NY, next in the lineup.
“With 13 schools and colleges, 200 customizable majors and 100 minors and online degrees and certificates, Syracuse University provides limitless educational pathways,” said admissions officers interviewed for the book.
Schools with exceptional internship/co-op/experiential learning opportunities endear students to practical experiences outside of the classroom, said Franek. In this category, “Best Career Services,” Clemson University in Clemson, SC, took the lead.
If it’s Greek life you’re after, the University of Alabama had the leading edge for “Lots of Greek Life.” Impressively, UAB’s incoming class tends to have an average GPA of 3.8, and that’s the most important factor for admission, according to the Princeton Review authors.
“Administrators here are looking to admit a student body that’s friendly, diverse and intelligent with students who strive to be active in the community,” they wrote.
For the research-driven, “Best Science Lab Facilities” goes to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana with California Institute of Technology, United States Military Academy and Lake Forest College in Illinois getting the next highest marks.
“Rose-Hulman has been recognized for the past two decades as the best undergraduate engineering school in the US, and we have a track record of excelling at career placement rate — averaging 98% — with some of the best-known companies in the world seeking out our students for paid internships and full-time employment,” said the school’s admissions officers.
Staying fit both mentally and physically is a strong concern among college students and their parents, even more so since the pandemic, said Franek.
To this end, taking the lead for “Best Health Services” is United States Air Force Academy. Surveyed students here note their satisfaction in how, “Values of integrity, service, and excellence are actually the norm … If you decide to attend, be prepared to be challenged physically and mentally, and held to a higher standard than at your average college. In return, however, you’ll also get incredible opportunities not found elsewhere.”
In the spirit of diversity, the prime higher education institution designated “LGBTQ-Friendly” is Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, followed by Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, Reed College in Oregon and Brown University in Rhode Island.
If you’re starving to know which school earned “Best Campus Food,” it’s University of Massachusetts Amherst, with Bowdoin College in Maine, Washington University in St. Louis and Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, also good picks for foodies.