Our 50 annual college rankings lists are entirely based on what students attending the schools in our Best Colleges book tell us about their colleges and their experiences at them via our student survey for this project. Each ranking list reports the top 25 colleges (of the 390 in the book) in a specific category.
We tallied the rankings lists in the current edition of The Best 390 Colleges (published August 2024) based on the data from our surveys of 168,000 students at the 390 schools in the book. Our student survey has 89 questions in four sections. We ask students about: 1) their school's academics/administration, 2) life at their college, 3) their fellow students, and 4) themselves. Students answer by selecting one of five answer choices that range across a grid or scale. The answer choice headers might range from "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree" or "Excellent" to "Poor": some are percentages with ranges from "0–20%" to "81–100%." This answer choice five-point scale—which is called a Likert scale—is the most commonly used measurement for this type of survey research: a consensus-based assessment.
We give each college a score for its students' answers to each survey question. Similar to a GPA, it is a metric that provides us with a numerical base to compare student opinions from college to college—apples to apples, as it were. Using these scores (which we compute out to several percentage points), we are able to tally our ranked lists. Schools that make it onto any of our 50 top 25 lists are those at which the surveyed students (as a group) indicated a very high consensus of opinion about that topic.
Most of our ranking lists are based on students' answers to one survey question, such as "How do you rate your campus food?" Some, such as our "Best Classroom Experience" list, are based on students' answers to more than one question.
Note: The Princeton Review does not rank the schools in the book overall, 1 to 390, hierarchically or in a single list category. The Princeton Review reports the top 25 schools (of the 390 in the book) for each of its 50 different ranking list categories—but does not report ranks beyond the top 25 in any category (i.e., schools ranked 26 to 390).
Note: No ranking list reflects The Princeton Review's opinion of (or rating of) the colleges. A college's appearance on a ranking list in the book is entirely the result of what its own students surveyed by The Princeton Review reported about their campus experiences as well as how they rated various aspects of their college life.
Note: The Princeton Review college rankings are different from The Princeton Review college ratings. Our college ratings are numerical scores on a scale of 60–99 that we give to all colleges in the book. We report those rating scores in eight categories, including Admissions Selectivity, Financial Aid, Fire Safety, and Green. Unlike our 50 ranking lists, which are based entirely on our student surveys, our eight rating scores are based primarily on our surveys of administrators at the schools who annually provide us with institutional data we request about their colleges. (A few of our rating scores factor in some of our student survey data—e.g., our "Professors Accessible Rating" score is based on students' answers to our survey question that asks students to rate the accessibility of their professors on our five-point scale). Our college ratings scores appear in the school profiles in The Best 390 Colleges (as well as in the school profiles for the Best Value Colleges and others found on our site). Learn more about our ratings here.
The Princeton Review's 50 college ranking lists cover eight general areas: Academics/Administration, Quality of Life, Politics, Campus Life, Town Life, Extracurriculars, and Social Scene. Here is a breakdown on each of those eight general areas, the titles of the ranking lists we report in each area, and information about each ranking list basis: the student survey question(s) we use to report the list.
Academics/Administration
Best Classroom Experience
Based on students' answers to several survey questions, including how they rate their professors, their classroom and lab facilities, the amount of in-class time devoted to discussion and the percent of classes they attend.
Students Study the Most
Based on students' answers to the survey question: "How many out-of-class hours do you spend studying each day?"
Professors Get High Marks
Professors Get Low Marks
Both lists are based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Professors are interesting and bring their material to life."
Most Accessible Professors
This list is based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Professors are accessible outside the classroom."
Best Science Lab Facilities
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate your school's science lab facilities?"
Best Health Services
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate your school's campus health services?"
Best Student Support and Counseling Services
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate your school's student support and counseling services?"
Best Career Services
Based on students' answers to the survey question: "How do you rate your school's career/job placement services?"
Best College Library
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate your school's library facilities?"
Great Financial Aid
Financial Aid Not So Great
Both lists are based on students' answers to the survey question, "If you receive financial aid, how satisfied are you with your financial aid package?"
Best-Run Colleges
Based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "My school runs smoothly."
Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation
Based on students' answers to survey questions, including how they rate administration and student support for environmental awareness and conservation efforts.
Their Students Love These Colleges
Based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "I am satisfied with my school."
Quality of Life
Happiest Students
Based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "I am happy at my school."
Friendliest Students
Based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Students here are extremely friendly."
Most Beautiful Campus
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate the beauty of your campus?"
Best Campus Food
Campus Food Not So Tasty
Both lists are based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate the food on campus?"
Best College Dorms
College Dorms Not So Fancy
Both lists are based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate residence halls/on-campus housing?"
Best Quality of Life
Based on students' answers to several survey questions, including how they rate the beauty, safety and location of their campus, their campus dorms and food, their ease in getting around the campus and in dealing with the administration, the friendliness of fellow students and interactions among different student types on campus, and their overall happiness.
Politics
Most Conservative Students
Most Liberal Students
Both lists are based on students' answers to the survey question, "Politically, are you far-left, Democrat, non-partisan, Republican, or far-right?"
Most Politically Active Students
Least Politically Active Students
Both lists are based on students' answers to the survey question, "My level of political awareness is: Very High, High, Average, Low, or Very Low."
Campus Life
Lots of Race/Class Interaction
Little Race/Class Interaction
Both lists are based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Different types of students (black/white, rich/poor) interact frequently and easily."
LGBTQ-Friendly
LGBTQ-Unfriendly
Both lists are based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Students treat all persons equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression."
Most Religious Students
Least Religious Students
Both lists are based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Students are very religious."
Town Life
College City Gets High Marks
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate the city or town where your school is located?"
Town-Gown Relations Are Great
Based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Students get along with members of the local community."
Extracurriculars
Best Athletic Facilities
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate the recreational/athletic facilities at your school?"
Students Love Their School Teams
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How popular are intercollegiate sports at your school?"
Everyone Plays Intramural Sports
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How popular are intramural sports at your school?"
Best College Radio Station
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How popular is the college radio station?"
Best College Newspaper
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate your campus newspaper?"
Best College Theater
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How do you rate your college's theater productions?"
Students Most Engaged in Community Service
Based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Students are committed to community service."
Most Active Student Government
Based on how strongly students agree or disagree with the statement, "Student government has an active presence and a tremendous impact on campus life."
Social Scene
Lots of Greek Life
Based on students' answers to the survey question, "How popular are fraternities/sororities at your school?"
Lots of Beer
Cancel the Keg
Both lists are based on students' answers to the survey question, "How widely is beer used at your school?"
Lots of Hard Liquor
Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch
Both lists are based on students' answers to the survey question, "How widely is hard liquor used at your school?"
Reefer Madness
Pot's Not Hot
Both lists are based on students' answers to the survey question, "How widely is marijuana used at your school?"
