Photo by Scott Barrow

Rensselaer One of Nation’s
Best 377 Colleges, Says Princeton Review

Rensselaer is one of the country’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features the school in the new 2013 edition of its annual college guide, “The Best 377 Colleges” (Random House/Princeton Review), available in a print edition and a new enhanced eBook edition.

Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and three colleges outside the U.S. are profiled in the book, which is The Princeton Review’s flagship college guide. It includes detailed profiles of the colleges with rating scores for all schools in eight categories, plus ranking lists of the top 20 schools in the book in 62 categories based on The Princeton Review’s surveys of students attending the colleges.

“We appreciate the recognition from The Princeton Review, which represents another acknowledgement of progress and achievements we’ve made under The Rensselaer Plan,” said Provost Prabhat Hajela. “From our integrated approach to living and learning—through our Clustered Learning, Advocacy, and Support for Students program within residential life—to education that prepares young men and women to meet the challenges of the 21st century, to research that results in breakthroughs that make a difference in peoples’ lives, we are continuing to advance all aspects of the Rensselaer educational and research portfolios.”

In its profile on Rensselaer, The Princeton Review praises the school for its academics, student life, and student body. The new report quotes extensively from Rensselaer students the company surveyed for the book. Among their comments about their campus experiences at Rensselaer: professors at Rensselaer are “passionate about teaching,” “my professors in my direct major are extremely hands on and discussion based,” “you can be anyone you want—the kid sword fighting with his friends in the Quad or an avid musician who has a 4.0 GPA,” “even the humanities at RPI are laced with the sweet smell of science,” and “extracurricular activities are balanced alongside the classes, labs, homework, and studying.”

In a “Survey Says” sidebar in the profile on Rensselaer, The Princeton Review lists topics that students surveyed for the book were in most agreement about in their answers. The list includes: “lab facilities are great,” “great computer facilities,” “students are happy,” “frats and sororities dominate social scene,” and “student publications are popular.”