College Rankings

There are a lot of different resources available for students to get a better idea about different colleges and how life might be on campus. Nothing can replace your impression of the campus and how you can (or cannot) imagine fitting in at a particular school, but there other tools such as school websites, visits with admissions representatives, and books or other resources all have information that can help round out your view of a school. 

Many people put a great deal of stock into college rankings and each year Princeton Review releases a book which features summaries of different schools and lists "Top 20's" for 62 different categories. There is some very interesting information that you can find by reading these lists. For example, if you love sports then it should be a big warning to you if you find that your top choice of college is on the "Nobody plays intramural sports" list.  And maybe you'd be happy to find that your choice of college has made the "Happiest students" list.  

I do want to caution you - do not read too much into just this resource - use it as one source. For example, when you read things like top party schools (OU is not on the list for the 2nd year in a row after being on it for multiple years including topping the list back in 2011) you will find that some students might be responding in a way that they want people to perceive a school and also it is important to keep this in perspective because students can find and make college into whatever experience they want. Obviously since they are highlighting 382 colleges all schools are not included - it is about 13% of the colleges in the US. Enjoy checking out the 62 lists to see where your colleges of choice fall on the various lists.

This article points out the importance of using caution when considering these lists.  The problem with ranking colleges like mine.

In case you don't want to check on the various lists to read all top 20 schools for each list, here are a few summaries that articles have done which might interest you.

From the Princeton Review Press Release:

Other Princeton Review ranking list categories and #1 colleges on them in the new lists and book include:

• "Most Accessible Professors"— Colby College (ME)
• "Best College Dorms"— Scripps College (CA)
• "Best Campus Food" — University of Massachusetts Amherst
• "Best Health Services" — University of Wisconsin—Madison
• "Most Beautiful Campus"— University of San Diego (CA)
• "Best Athletic Facilities — Auburn University (AL)
• "Happiest Students" — Vanderbilt University (TN)
• "Most Politically Active Students" — Columbia University (NY)
• "LGBTQ-Friendly" — Bryn Mawr College (PA)
• "Party Schools" —Tulane University (LA)
• Stone-Cold Sober Schools" — Brigham Young University (UT)
• "Students Pack the Stadiums" — Syracuse University (NY)
• "College City Gets High Marks" — Tulane University (LA)
• "Their Students Love These Colleges" — Virginia Tech

Here’s the best of the 2018 Princeton Review Rankings

Most surprising results from Princeton Review’s 2018 Top College Rankings

Ohio University earns rankings on 3 Princeton Review lists