10 Maryland Colleges Named Among 384 Best By Princeton Review

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Princeton Review has named ten colleges in Maryland among the top 384 in America. Nearly all of those schools appear on various “Best Of” — and “Worst Of” — lists, and you might be surprised where some of our colleges land. The tutoring, test prep, and college admission services company surveyed 138,000 students at the schools and asked them to rate the institutions on dozens of topics.

Some Maryland colleges found themselves high on lists that are not so flattering. For example: The US Naval Academy finished tops in America on the list entitled: "Don't Inhale" and was No. 3 for "Least Happy Students." The University of Maryland at College Park finished second in the nation on the list entitled: "Professors Get Low Marks" and fourth for "Least Accessible Professors."

Although the company did not rank the top 384 colleges — the list is in alphabetical order — it did rank them for numerous category lists, including best college theater, best science lab facilities, best party schools, most beautiful campus and even something as silly as “nobody plays intramural sports.”

Here’s a breakdown of the best colleges in Maryland — all ranked among top 384 – as well as their rankings in the various categories:

• St. John's College, Annapolis
  • Ranked 5th in Professors Get High Marks
  • Ranked 6th in Lots of Race/Class Interaction
  • Ranked 7th in Most Accessible Professors
  • Ranked 8th in Best Classroom Experience
  • Ranked 13th in There’s a Game?
• United States Naval Academy, Annapolis
  • Ranked 1st in Don't Inhale
  • Ranked 2nd in Best Science Lab Facilities
  • Ranked 3rd in Least Happy Students
  • Ranked 5th in Is That a Dorm?
  • Ranked 9th in Town-Gown Relations are Great
  • Ranked 13th in Stone-Cold Sober Schools
  • Ranked 17th in Best-Run Colleges
• Goucher College, Baltimore
  • Ranked 2nd in Most Popular Study Abroad Program
• Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
  • Ranked 5th in Best Science Lab Facilities
• Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore
  • Ranked 19th in Best College Dorms
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore
  • No individual category rankings
  • Washington College, Chestertown
  • No individual category rankings
  • University of Maryland, College Park, College Park
  • Ranked 2nd in Professors Get Low Marks
  • Ranked 4th in Least Accessible Professors
  • Salisbury University, Salisbury
  • Ranked 2nd in This is a Library?
  • Ranked 14th in Least Accessible Professors
  • St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City
  • No individual category rankings

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Robert Franek, editor in chief at The Princeton Review and the book's lead author, said in a release that the 384 “best” colleges were primarily based on their “outstanding academics” and that the authors “highly recommend each one.” But Franek noted stellar academics aren’t the only things students — and parents — look for in a college.

“We created our 62 ranking lists to help narrow that search,” he said. “They are based entirely on data we gather beyond academics that give insight into what the schools' enrolled students say about their professors, administrators, school services, campus culture, and student life. In the end, it's all about the fit.”

Among the key findings: Bentley University had the most highly-rated career center and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee topped the "Great Financial Aid" list. Reed College in Oregon — where most class sections contain just two to nine students — ranked No. 1on the list, "Professors Get High Marks," based on how students rated their faculty specifically in their roles as teachers.

Here are the top performers in some of the other categories:

• "Most Accessible Professors" — United States Military Academy (New York)
• "Best College Dorms"— Washington University in St. Louis
• "Best Campus Food" — University of Massachusetts-Amherst
• "Best Health Services" — University of Wisconsin-Madison
• "Most Beautiful Campus"— Bucknell University (Pennsylvania)
• "Best Athletic Facilities" — The University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa
• "Happiest Students" — College of William & Mary (Virginia)
• "Most Politically Active Students" — American University (Washington D.C.)
• "LGBTQ-Friendly" — Emerson College (Massachussetts)
• "Party Schools" — University of Delaware
• Stone-Cold Sober Schools" — Brigham Young University (Utah)
• "Students Pack the Stadiums" — Syracuse University (New York)
• "College City Gets High Marks" — Tulane University (Louisiana)
• "Their Students Love These Colleges" — Clemson University (South Carolina)

The 84-question survey asks students about their school's academics, administration, student body and themselves. You can read more about the ranking methodology here.

Patch national reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this article.

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