Rice ranked No. 1 for happiest students and lots of race/class interaction

The happiest students in the country are at Rice University, according to the Princeton Review’s 2017 edition of “The Best 381 Colleges.” The new college guide ranks Rice No. 1 for happiest students and for lots of race/class interaction. Rice is also No. 9 for best quality of life.

The rankings are based on surveys of 143,000 students at 381 top colleges. Students responded to 84 questions about academics, administration, the student body and themselves. The guide published the top 20 schools in 60 categories. In addition to three top-10 rankings, Rice is No. 20 for best health services, and a photo of the campus appears on the cover of the publication.

“We’re especially gratified by our two No. 1 rankings in the Princeton Review for student happiness and interaction among students of different racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, as well as our top-10 ranking for overall student quality of life,” Rice President David Leebron said. “These reflect two of our most important commitments: the general welfare and positive engagement of our students, and building a diverse and inclusive community. We take this expression of satisfaction from our students not as a laurel to rest upon, but an encouragement to constantly aspire to do even better.”

The guide’s profile of Rice notes that the crossover between personal and academic life made possible by the residential college system “helps make life at Rice well-balanced.” One student said, “The environment is very inclusive,” and another said, “There is no racial majority here on campus, and I’ve met students of varied political affiliations, religions, socio-economic status and sexual orientations.” The guide reports that Rice students are “generous with their praise for professors.” Although students have a wide range of activities and interests, “what they all have in common is their satisfaction with life at Rice,” the Princeton Review wrote.

For more information on the rankings, visit princetonreview.com/college-rankings/best-colleges.

The video below from O-Week conveys some of the reasons Rice students are so happy.