Brandeis has been ranked one of the top 384 universities in the country and one of the top universities in the Northeastern region in the “The Best 384 Colleges” book, published annually by The Princeton Review. The Princeton Review utilizes survey responses and statistics from the previous school year to determine their rankings. The book is split into two parts: the first focuses on the highlights of each university individually, the second ranking the schools in different lists, which are split into categories.
Brandeis was also ranked in quite a few lists: “Best College Newspaper,” “Most Liberal Students” and “Students Most Engaged in Community Service.”
Brandeis was ranked the 10th most liberal college campus based on a survey asking for students’ political leanings. Brandeis was also ranked the number five school in the country for “Most Engaged in Community Service.”
The university was ranked third in the “There’s a Game?” category, demonstrating a low popularity of intercollegiate sports at Brandeis, both in attendance and participation.
Brandeis was ranked 13th out of 20 in “Best College Newspaper” when students were asked to rate their school’s newspaper. The university was also ranked the ninth least beautiful campus in the country.
Brandeis was selected as one of the top 375 “Green Colleges” from a list of over two thousand schools. The ranking was primarily based on a “Green Rating” and student opinions.
The “Green Rating” covered three key factors: “whether students have a quality of life on campus that is both healthy and sustainable; how well a school is preparing students for employment in an increasingly green economy; how environmentally responsible a school’s policies are,” according to The Princeton Review website. Students’ responses were focused on how sustainability issues affected their educational choices and the impact of different student environmental groups on campus.
The other large category that Brandeis ranked highly in was “Colleges that Pay You Back,” where Brandeis was ranked as the number ten “Impact School,” one of the subcategories.
The Princeton Review describes the “Impact School” ranking as “based on student survey responses to questions covering community service opportunities, student government, sustainability efforts, and on-campus school engagement.” 200 schools were selected for this list, according to The Princeton Review. Schools that were part of this list are known for their stellar academics, affordable cost (a low tuition price or generous financial aid) and strong postgraduate career paths. All of these are part of a Return-on-Investment (ROI) Rating.
The ROI Ratings mainly come from alumni feedback about starting and mid-career salaries as well as career social impact, and takes into account a variety of other academic and financial factors to determine if the price of the university is worth the education that is received.
Aside from rankings, the book also provides a general biography of schools to give prospective students a more student-oriented perspective. The general biography is split into three sections: academics, student body and campus life, where students were able to reflect upon their experiences at Brandeis as a whole. Students surveyed by the Princeton Review described Brandeis as a “phenomenal school that ‘teaches…the value of hard work, cultivates curiosity and [an] interest in learning, and introduces one to various perspectives,”” according to the Princeton Review website. Students also praised the professors on campus and their commitment to their students.
In the student body section, Brandeis students were shown as students who looked out for one another and supportive every step of the way. The final section of the biography, the campus life, calls the library the “most social spot on campus” during the weekdays, according to a majority of Brandeis students. But even with a majority of their time consumed in the library, Brandeis is also commended for their extracurricular involvement, boasting over 280 clubs.
