Princeton Review ranks Rice #1 in quality of life

Second year in a row

Jon Boyd, Sep 07, 10.

Princeton Review announces the results of its survey of 122,000 college students, according to a press release from Rice University:

For the second year in a row, Rice University is ranked No. 1 nationally for “Best Quality of Life” by the Princeton Review in its annual guidebook of the country’s best colleges.

The ranking appears in the 2011 edition of “The Best 373 Colleges,” which profiles about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and two Canadian undergraduate colleges.

The guide includes 62 rankings of “top 20” colleges in various categories based solely on the Princeton Review’s survey of 122,000 students attending the colleges in the book.

Rice’s top spot on the “Best Quality of Life” list is based on responses from students to questions about food on and off campus, dorm comfort, campus beauty, ease of getting around campus, relationship with the local community, campus safety, the surrounding area, interaction between students, friendliness and happiness of the student body and satisfaction with the school administration.

[snip]

Rice President David Leebron said he was pleased—but not surprised—by Rice’s high marks for quality of life and other rankings.

“Quality of life includes the entire student experience: the people, the facilities and amenities, the urban environment,” he said. “Our outstanding faculty members are committed to their students, students are committed to each other and our campus offers excellent research, classroom, residential and recreational spaces. And, when students are not studying or in a lab, the city of Houston provides numerous learning and entertainment opportunities.”

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(Photo credit: Rainer Ebert)