Wooster earns Best 388 Colleges Distinction from Princeton Review
The College of Wooster was selected again this year as one of the nation’s top schools by The Princeton Review in its guidebook, The Best 388 Colleges: 2023 Edition. The Princeton Review uses surveys of 160,000 students from across the country attending the 388 colleges to make their distinctions. Wooster was also selected for the “Best Midwestern,” “Best Value Colleges,” and “Green Colleges” lists.
While the Best Colleges guidebook does not rank the schools 1-388, it includes several ranking lists of the top 25 colleges in specific categories based on students’ answers to several questions. Wooster was recognized as the only school in Ohio in the top 25 for the following lists as well as the only private school in Ohio on the top 20 lists for Internships and Making an Impact.
- Best Classroom Experience – No. 13
- Lots of Race/Class Interaction – No. 7
- Most Accessible Professors – No. 8
- Professors Get High Marks – No. 18
- Students Study the Most – No. 5
- Top 20 Best Schools for Internships (Private Schools) – No. 11
- Top 20 Best Schools for Making an Impact (Private Schools) – No. 13
The College Profile for Wooster and full list of rankings and lists for the College, including “Best College Library” No. 8 and “Best Career Services” No. 21 (among others in Ohio), is available in the on The Princeton Review guidebook website.
Students interviewed for the publication said, “mentoring is a huge focal point of Wooster’s academics and the ‘resources are endless’ for those looking to take advantage of things like ‘numerous opportunities for research and internships’”—a nod to Wooster’s emphasis in experiential learning. They noted the Independent Study program as the highlight of the undergraduate experience, saying “the school ‘teaches research and how to apply skills learned to the outside world.’”
The school ‘teaches research and how to apply skills learned to the outside world.’”
The reviews also endorsed Wooster’s faculty ranking them as No. 8 in accessibility. A first-year student said, “It’s as if your professor is your colleague on your quest for eternal knowledge.” Another added, “My success is a product of my professors’ enthusiasm toward their subject matter and our futures.” While students noted the work may be “challenging,” they also noted that “’plenty of help is available from professors, TAs, and peer tutoring.’” The publication also stressed, “The institution is also aware of the effort that students must put in to have success,” and quoting student comments, “‘is realistic in its expectations for students’ learning.’ ‘Wooster is a community of learners working together to help one another reach their full potential and goals,” says a sophomore chemistry major.”
Wooster’s “fantastic student body” was called the “life force of the school” by one student. Students surveyed also mentioned the range of people that make up the community and emphasized that students are “very accepting of different personalities, beliefs, and ways of life.” Campus life is another important factor in Princeton Review’s assessment of a college, and students noted the variety of hot spots on campus for socializing and special events with comedians, speakers, and professional music artists, when possible. They mentioned how students are involved in a variety of sports, clubs, music ensembles and groups, and other activities that suit their interests and find many ways to celebrate school pride and Scot spirit.
The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admission services company. The company is not affiliated with Princeton University.
Posted in News on August 18, 2022.
