College Rankings

The 2007 U.S. News & World Report edition of America's Best Colleges and "The Princeton Review" rankings have both been released recently. The spin by colleges and universities are always the best part of these rankings. For example, I received the following information from The Ohio State University boasting about being named 19th among the nation's top 50 public universities, up from 21st in 2005, 22nd in 2004 and 2003, and 24th in 2002. If Ohio State goes to say 42 next year, would there be this type of press release?

Conversely, while many current students of Penn State (#2) and West Virginia (#3) may be happy to be ranked among the top party schools by the Princeton Review, the administrators want to put a different spin on it. In response to the ranking, Penn State university spokesman Tysen Kendig said, "Certainly, we want our students to have a great experience at the university, both academically and socially. But I think we need to be careful at all colleges and universities because we are dealing with a climate of alcohol abuse. And that's definitely not something that any college or university would be proud of." Of course he's right. However, he then pointed out that the Washington Monthly had a poll of the best universities in terms of service to the nation, where Penn State ranked No. 3 in that poll.

Other schools of note for the Princeton Review rankings:

Ithaca College
#4 Best College Radio Station
#18 Best College Theater
#14 Reefer Madness

George Mason University
#16 Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid
#13 Their Students (Almost) Never Study
#2 Diverse Student Population
#14 Least Happy Students

The George Washington University
#5 Most Politically Active
#20 Dorms Like Palaces
#18 Great College Towns

The Ohio State University
#7 Teaching Assistants Teach Too Many Upper-Level Courses
#19 Students Pack the Stadiums

To see the complete list, click here (you may need to create a username and password) or if you're looking for a particular school, let me know and I'll check it out for you.