OHIO — Several Ohio universities and colleges have been recognized recently by the Princeton Review which takes surveys of current students to rank the Best Colleges each year.
Princeton Review, an education service company, lists the top 390 higher-education facilities across the county, it names the top 25 colleges in 50 unique categories including: Great Financial Aid, Profs Get High Marks, Best Campus Food and Best Career Services. This year the company noted there were several categories holding interest during the election year including Most Conservative Students, Most Liberal Students, Most Politically Active Students and Least Politically Active Students.
“The colleges we profile in our book are truly a select group: they constitute about 15% of America's four-year institutions. We chose them primarily based on our high opinion of their academic offerings," said Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Review and author of The Best 390 Colleges. " The colleges that make our book's ranking lists do so entirely as a result of the opinions of their customers—students attending the colleges—who complete our 89-question survey about their school."
Princeton Review bases its rankings solely on student survey responses unlike ratings using data from the schools or administrators. Students are asked to rate their college based on dozens of topics and share their experiences at them. Princeton Review said surveys were taken from 168,000 students, approximately 430 per school on average, in 2023-2024 and/or the previous two academic years.
The survey posed to students had 89 questions in four sections including the school's academics/administration, life at college, their fellow students and themselves. Answer choices ranges from "Strongly Agree" to "Storngly Disagree" to "Excellent" to "Poor" or from percentages such as "0-20%" to "81-100%." To see more about the methodology, including statements used in the survey and a break down of responses, click here.
Ohio's recognized schools came from across the Buckeye State and included:
- Ohio Northern University
- Ohio University—Athens
- University of Cincinnati
- Xavier University (OH)
- Case Western Reserve University
- The Ohio State University–Columbus
- University of Dayton
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- Kenyon College
- Denison University
- Oberlin College
- Miami University
- Wittenberg University
- John Carroll University
- College of Wooster
Several of the schools were only recognized within the Best 390 Colleges including: Ohio Northern University, Oberlin College, Miami University and Wittenberg University.
Meanwhile, some of Ohio's other schools were recognized amongst the best 390 Colleges and earned Top 25 spots within Princeton Review's categories.
The Ohio University — Athens ranked:
- #19 Reefer Madness
- #25 Professors Get Low Marks
UC ranked:
- #8 Professors Get Low Marks
- #15 Students Love Their School Teams
- #21 Lots of Race/Class Interaction
- #23 Their Students Love These Colleges
Xavier University ranked:
- #21 Students Love Their School Teams
Case Western Reserve University ranked:
- #14 College Dorms Not So Fancy
- #23 Little Race/Class Interaction
OSU — Columbus ranked:
- #1 Best Athletic Facilities
- #8 Students Love Their School Teams
- #12 Best College Library
- #17 Best-Run Colleges
- #24 Best Health Services
- #24 Town-Gown relations are Great
University of Dayton ranked:
- #5 Best-Run Colleges
- #13 Best Campus Food
- #18 Students Love Their School Teams
- #19 Lots of Beer
- #22 Best College Library
- #22 Happiest Students
- #23 Best College Dorms
- #25 Lots of Hard Liquor
Ohio Wesleyan University ranked:
- #5 Campus Food Not So Tasty
- #7 College Dorms Not So Fancy
Kenyon College ranked:
- #17 Most Accessible Professors
- #20 Professors Get High Marks
Denison University ranked:
- #4 Best Career Services
- #8 Best Science Lab Facilities
- #11 Best Classroom Facilities
- #13 Best Athletic Facilities
- #14 Lots of Race/Class Interaction
- #15 Best College Radio Station
- #15 Best College Theatre
- #17 Reefer Madness
- #19 Best-Run Colleges
- #19 Happiest Students
- #19 Lots of Hard Liquor
- #20 Town-Gown Relations are Great
John Carroll ranked:
- #7 Most Engaged in Community Service
- #23 Most Religious Students
- #24 Campus Food Not So Tasty
College of Wooster ranked:
- #7 Best Science Lab Facilities
- #10 Most Accessible Professors
- #18 Most Liberal Students
- #19 Best Classroom Experience
- #23 College Dorms Not So Fancy
- #24 Best College Library