Princeton Review Names Randolph College One of Nation's Best
LYNCHBURG— Randolph College is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The college is once again featured in the newest edition of the popular guidebook, “The Best 371 Colleges.” Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and two Canadian colleges were included in the 2010 edition.
Randolph College was also one of 141 schools named a “Best Southeast College” by the Princeton Review. The college also ranked highly for its race/class interaction.
Students quoted in the guide touted Randolph College’s rich diversity and academic excellence. According to students quoted in the book, Randolph College offers “a combination of great academics, cultural integrity, individuality, and tradition.” As one student explained, “I decided to attend Randolph because I wanted a school that melded fun, wacky traditions; strong academics; small classes with teachers who really get to know you well; a family-like community; and a school that makes you feel at home.”
The college’s diverse community also received high marks from students, and most students surveyed agreed that Randolph’s “close-knit community is a place where everyone really does know your name, and everyone smiles at each other.”
The Princeton Review also sang the college’s praises. “Admitting highly qualified and well-matched students is a top priority at Randolph,” the book’s authors said, adding that “Randolph is looking for independent, confident students who place a premium on their educations.”
“We commend Randolph College for its outstanding academics, which is the primary criteria for our choice of schools for the book,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s vice president of publishing and author of “The Best 371 Colleges.” “We also work to keep a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity, and character.”
Franek said the colleges featured are chosen based on institutional data, feedback from current students, and input from The Princeton Review staff members, who visit hundreds of colleges a year.
The ranking lists in “The Best 371 Colleges” are based on The Princeton Review’s survey of 122,000 students (about 325 per campus on average). A college’s appearance on these lists is attributable to a high consensus among its surveyed students about the subject. The 80-question survey asked students to rate their schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences at them. Ranking lists report the top 20 schools in categories that range from best professors, administration, and campus food to lists based on student body political leanings, race/class relations, sports interests, and other aspects of campus life. Randolph earned a spot on several of these lists, including 12th for “lots of race/class interaction.”
The Princeton Review is a New York-based company known for its test preparation, education, and college admission services. It is not affiliated with Princeton University and does not print a magazine.
Learn more about how Randolph College stacks up at…
