Rice ranked No. 1 for best quality of life and racial interaction

Rice University has two No. 1 spots in the 2016 edition of the Princeton Review’s “The Best 380 Colleges”: Best quality of life and lots of race/class interaction.

The rankings are based on surveys of 136,000 students at 380 top colleges. Students responded to 80 questions about academics, administration, the student body and themselves. The guide published the top 20 schools in 62 categories.

Rice appears on four other lists in the college guide:
— No. 9 for happiest students.
— No. 14 for best health services.
— No. 16 for great financial aid.
— No. 19 for best-run colleges.

“We’re very pleased that on the basis of student surveys, Rice was ranked No. 1 in the country by the Princeton Review for the best quality of student life, which reflects a broad range of measures,” Rice President David Leebron said. “That quality of life supports students’ educational experience and achievement. But we are even more gratified with our No. 1 ranking for interaction among students of different racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Diversity at Rice isn’t just a matter of statistics, but how our students actually experience their education.”

The Princeton Review’s profile of Rice quotes a student who said, “Most students respect other students and enjoy learning more about people who have different backgrounds and beliefs than their own.” Another student noted that professors “are very accessible and happy to talk about the material and give help outside of class.” And another said, “Students at Rice work hard and accomplish great things in academics and extracurriculars. But this is complemented and supported by a thriving social life.” The guide also cites a “very inclusive” environment and a description of the student body as “extremely collaborative, friendly, accepting and social – it’s not cliquey.”

Including the 2016 guide, the Princeton Review has ranked Rice No. 1 or 2 for best quality of life nine times since 2007, and Rice’s ranking for lots of race/class interaction has been in the top 10 eight times. Rice has also ranked in the top 10 for happiest students six times.

For more information on the rankings, visit http://www.princetonreview.com/best380.