Schools

CA Colleges Named Among 384 Best By Princeton Review

The Princeton Review rankings are based on surveys of 138,000 students at the schools.

CALIFORNIA – The Princeton Review has named 31 colleges in California among the top 384 in America. Nearly all of those schools appear on various "Best Of" — and "Worst Of"— lists, and you might be surprised where some of the state's colleges land. The tutoring, test prep and college admission services company surveyed 138,000 students at the schools and asked them to rate the institutions on dozens of topics.

Although the company did not rank the top 384 colleges — the list is in alphabetical order — it did rank them for numerous category lists, including best college theater, best science lab facilities, best party schools, most beautiful campus and even something as silly as "nobody plays intramural sports."

Here's a breakdown of the best colleges in California as well as their rankings in the various categories:

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  • University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley)
    • Ranked 13th in Least Happy Students
    • Ranked 18th in Least Accessible Professors
  • Claremont McKenna College (Claremont)
  • Harvey Mudd College (Claremont)
    • Ranked 1st in Least Beautiful Campus
    • Ranked 3rd in Most Accessible Professors
    • Ranked 3rd in Students Study the Most
    • Ranked 9th in Best Science Lab Facilities
    • Ranked 16th in There’s a Game?
    • Ranked 17th in LGBTQ-Friendly
    • Ranked 19th in Professors Get High Marks
  • Pitzer College (Claremont)
    • Ranked 1st in Most Active Student Government
    • Ranked 2nd in Most Politically Active Students
    • Ranked 2nd in There’s a Game?
    • Ranked 2nd in Tree-Hugging Vegetarians
    • Ranked 3rd in Reefer Madness
    • Ranked 7th in Most Liberal Students
    • Ranked 9th in Least Religious Students
    • Ranked 15th in Best College Dorms
    • Ranked 17th in Best Campus Food
  • Pomona College (Claremont)
    • Ranked 8th in Great Financial Aid
  • Scripps College (Claremont)
    • Ranked 3rd in Best College Dorms
    • Ranked 8th in Most Liberal Students
    • Ranked 12th in Most Beautiful Campus
    • Ranked 13th in Best Classroom Experience
    • Ranked 16th in Best Quality of Life
  • University of California, Davis (Davis)
    • Ranked 5th in Financial Aid Not So Great
    • Ranked 14th in Election? What Election?
    • Ranked 20th in Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch
  • University of California, San Diego (La Jolla)
    • Ranked 17th in Professors Get Low Marks
    • Ranked 20th in Least Accessible Professors
  • Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles)
    • Ranked 3rd in Most Engaged in Community Service
    • Ranked 10th in Most Beautiful Campus
    • Ranked 18th in Best Science Lab Facilities
  • Occidental College (Los Angeles)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles)
  • University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
    • Ranked 16th in Best College Theater
  • Pepperdine University (Malibu)
  • Saint Mary's College (Moraga)
    • Ranked 7th in This is a Library?
  • Mills College (Oakland)
    • Ranked 1st in Administrators Get Low Marks
    • Ranked 9th in Most Liberal Students
    • Ranked 12th in Least Religious Students
    • Ranked 16th in Got Milk?
    • Ranked 16th in Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch
    • Ranked 16th in Stone-Cold Sober Schools
    • Ranked 19th in Nobody Plays Intramural Sports
    • Ranked 20th in LGBTQ-Friendly
  • Chapman University (Orange)
    • Ranked 17th in Best College Radio Station
    • Ranked 20th in Town-Gown Relations are Strained
  • California Institute of Technology (Pasadena)
    • Ranked 2nd in Students Study the Most
    • Ranked 3rd in Best Science Lab Facilities
    • Ranked 12th in Great Financial Aid
  • University of Redlands (Redlands)
    • Ranked 16th in Most Politically Active Students
  • University of California, Riverside (Riverside)
    • Ranked 13th in Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch
    • Ranked 14th in Got Milk?
  • Sonoma State University (Rohnert Park)
    • Ranked 6th in Least Happy Students
    • Ranked 12th in Little Race/Class Interaction
    • Ranked 14th in Students Study the Least
    • Ranked 20th in Party Schools
  • San Diego State University (San Diego)
    • Ranked 7th in Lots of Greek Life
  • University of San Diego (San Diego)
    • Ranked 6th in Most Beautiful Campus
    • Ranked 14th in Best Campus Food
    • Ranked 17th in Most Popular Study Abroad Program
  • University of San Francisco (San Francisco)
    • Ranked 7th in College City Gets High Marks
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara)
    • Ranked 4th in Lots of Hard Liquor
    • Ranked 7th in Party Schools
    • Ranked 9th in Students Study the Least
    • Ranked 15h in Happiest Students
  • Santa Clara University (Santa Clara)
  • University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz)
    • Ranked 8th in Least Accessible Professors
    • Ranked 15th in Professors Get Low Marks
    • Ranked 17th in Reefer Madness
  • Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula)
    • Ranked 1st in Future Rotarians and DAR
    • Ranked 3rd in Most Religious Students
    • Ranked 7th in Don't Inhale
    • Ranked 7th in Stone-Cold Sober Schools
    • Ranked 10th in Great Financial Aid
    • Ranked 12th in Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch
    • Ranked 17th in Best Classroom Experience
    • Ranked 17th in Got Milk?
  • Stanford University (Stanford)
    • Ranked 4th in Best Science Lab Facilities
    • Ranked 4th in Best-Run Colleges
    • Ranked 5th in Best College Library
    • Ranked 8th in Best Health Services
    • Ranked 13th in Great Financial Aid
    • Ranked 20th in Best Athletic Facilities
  • University of the Pacific (Stockton)
  • California State University, Stanislaus (Turlock)
  • Whittier College (Whittier)
    • Ranked 9th in Is That a Dorm?
    • Ranked 13th in Administrators Get Low Marks

Robert Franek, editor in chief at The Princeton Review and the book's lead author, said in a release that the 384 "best" colleges were primarily based on their "outstanding academics" and that the authors "highly recommend each one." But Franek noted stellar academics aren't the only things students — and parents — look for in a college.

"We created our 62 ranking lists to help narrow that search," he said. "They are based entirely on data we gather beyond academics that give insight into what the schools' enrolled students say about their professors, administrators, school services, campus culture, and student life. In the end, it's all about the fit."

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Among the key findings: Bentley University in Massachusetts had the most highly-rated career center and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee topped the "Great Financial Aid" list. Reed College in Oregon — where most class sections contain just two to nine students — topped the "Professors Get High Marks" list based on how students rated their faculty specifically in their roles as teachers.

Here are the top performers in some of the other categories:

  • "Most Accessible Professors" — United States Military Academy (New York)
  • "Best College Dorms" — Washington University in St. Louis (Missouri)
  • "Best Campus Food" — University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Massachusetts)
  • "Best Health Services" — University of Wisconsin-Madison (Wisconsin)
  • "Most Beautiful Campus"— Bucknell University (Pennsylvania)
  • "Best Athletic Facilities" — The University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa (Alabama)
  • "Happiest Students" — College of William & Mary (Virginia)
  • "Most Politically Active Students" — American University (Washington D.C.)
  • "LGBTQ-Friendly" — Emerson College (Massachussetts)
  • "Party Schools" — University of Delaware (Delaware)
  • Stone-Cold Sober Schools" — Brigham Young University (Utah)
  • "Students Pack the Stadiums" — Syracuse University (New York)
  • "College City Gets High Marks" — Tulane University (Louisiana)
  • "Their Students Love These Colleges" — Clemson University (South Carolina)

The 84-question survey asks students about their school's academics, administration, student body and themselves. Read more about the ranking methodology here.

Patch national reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this article.

Photo credit: Shutterstock / baipooh


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