Princeton Review ranks Vassar

Shahreen Saifi Guest Writer

The 2007 editions of the Princeton Review’s “Best 361 Colleges” and U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” highlighted a variety of Vassar trends and reaffirmed the College’s standing as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country. These annual publications often attract the attention of high school students and their parents across the nation while they wade through the process of researching colleges.

The Princeton Review’s 2007 edition ranks Vassar as nineteenth for “Best Overall Academic Experience for Undergraduates,” twelfth for “Best College Theatre,” and fifteenth for “Most Beautiful Campus.” Vassar students also tend to “Ignore God on a Regular Basis” (tenth-place ranking), and are likely to be “Birkenstock Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians” (fourteenth-place ranking) as well as “Nostalgic for Bill Clinton” (fifteenth-place ranking).

Numerical rankings in publications like the Princeton Review often raise questions about reliability and objectivity. They are based on voluntary student responses to an 80-question survey conducted for 361 schools across the nation. For the 2007 edition, 115,000 students participated in the survey, 93 percent of whom did so online. Because the data is not necessarily representative of all students’ sentiments, though, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid David Borus has said that the Princeton Review list amuses him more than anything else. “Of all the subjective guide books, The Princeton Review has the most questionable methodology,” said Borus in a September 2005 interview (“Princeton Review Ranks College in Six Areas,” 9.23.05 edition of The Miscellany News).

Drama department Chair Gabrielle Cody said she was delighted that Vassar had made it in the “Best College Theater” category for the Princeton Review. Recognizing the list’s flaws, she added, “These reports are not only subjective, but are subject to rapid shifts on campus and changes between generations. Still, they carry some standard of truth. It’s a standard of something that has been measured.”

An October 2005 Washington Post article defended U.S. News’ lists, which tied Vassar with Claremont McKenna as number 12 in “The Best Liberal Arts Colleges of 2007.” The Washington Post said the lists “forced every [college] to present their data in the same way, helping us parents and our children make informed choices.”

For the U.S. News and World Report rankings, participating colleges submit up to 15 “indicators of academic excellence” every year, which are then verified by the magazine for accuracy. The data includes peer assessment, faculty resources, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni-giving rate.

But some members of the Class of 2010, having recently completed the college application process, remain unconvinced of the rankings’ validity. “I didn’t pay attention to the rankings at all,” said David Prentice ’10. “I have no idea what the rankings are based on and I really don’t care.”

Elizabeth Merritt ’10, however, admitted that rankings played a role in her decision, though it was Vassar’s campus that ultimately convinced her to attend. Reviewing the categories in which Vassar was mentioned, Merritt said, “‘Students Ignore God on a Regular Basis?’ Personally, I don’t think it’s true because I attend Mass every Sunday, and I’ve been contacted by the Christian and Catholic Fellowships.”

Students also said that personal preference often outweighs standardized data. Hannah Lawrence ’10 said that she had reviewed the rankings but ultimately did not let them factor into her choice. Lawrence said, “It doesn’t matter what [Vassar] ranks on other lists, because it’s number one on mine.”