Rice among most acclaimed universities in Princeton Review history

Doug Miller
713-348-6770
doug.miller@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Rice among most acclaimed universities in Princeton Review history
After three decades of surveys, university named to 11 ‘Great Lists’

HOUSTON – (Sept. 7, 2021) – Rice University ranks among the most lauded institutions in the history of the Princeton Review’s annual survey on the nation’s best colleges, according to a newly published report analyzing three decades of reviews on America’s institutions of higher education.

The Princeton Review published its report as part of “The Best 387 Colleges,” its 30th annual snapshot of academic excellence at colleges and universities.  This closely watched survey, based upon reviews submitted by more than 150,000 students nationwide, lists the top-ranking schools measured in dozens of different categories.

For its 2022 anniversary edition, Princeton Review analyzed which colleges and universities have “the most impressive history of appearances” on its annual ranking lists since their inception in 1992.  Only four institutions were named to 11 of what the review calls its “Great Lists,” and one of them is Rice.

Rice ranked on the “Great Lists” in the following categories: “great race/class interaction,” “great financial aid,” “great health services,” “great-run colleges,” “most loved colleges,” “great college newspapers,” “great college dorms,” “great quality of life” and “great town-gown relations,” “LGBTQ-friendly” and “happy students.”

Princeton Review said its selections were based on three criteria: the number of times a college appeared on lists since 1992, its numerical rank on those lists and the overall consistency of feedback from the college’s students over the course of three decades.

Rice students responding to the annual surveys have praised the university’s faculty and described a “high quality of life” among “the happiest students in the United States.”

“I wanted my college years to be both happy and successful,” one student wrote. “And I found no other schools that were as prestigious, but also dedicated to ensuring the happiness of the student body.”

The Princeton Review report is the latest in a number of surveys rating Rice as one of the nation’s top universities. Niche, a website popular among college applicants, ranked Rice No. 7 in its latest ratings of the best colleges in the U.S. and No. 1 in Texas; Rice was also rated the nation’s No. 1 university for students majoring in architecture as well as in sports management and kinesiology and physical therapy. Meanwhile, Rice ranked No. 136 internationally in The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2022.

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Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,052 undergraduates and 3,484 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.