Princeton Review names Rice top school for race/class interaction, quality of life
Rice University students continue to rate highly in quality of life compared to universities across America, ranking No. 1 for both race/class interaction and quality of life in Princeton Review’s “The Best 380 Colleges” 2016 edition.
Rice also ranked within the top 20 across four other categories: happiest students, best health services, great financial aid and best-run colleges.
The rankings are a result of 136,000 surveys conducted across 380 of the top colleges in the nation. The Princeton Review evaluated race/class interaction based on surveyed students’ responses when asked whether people from different racial and economic backgrounds interacted often at their college. Several different questions contributed to the quality of life ranking, according to the Princeton Review site.
“[Quality of life questions assess] the beauty, safety and location of their campus, their campus dorms and food, their ease in getting around the campus and in dealing with the administration, the friendliness of fellow students and interactions among different student types on campus and their overall happiness,” the site said.
Rice’s profile on the Princeton Review site compiles quotes collected from students who participated in the questionnaire discussing academics, administration and the student body.
“Students at Rice are generous with their praise for professors, who ‘are very accessible and happy to talk about the material and give help outside of class,’ and make ‘their course material relevant, being sure to include modern-day and industry applications,’” the site said.
President David Leebron said he was pleased that Rice was recognized for its strong quality of life and said the ranking supports students’ experience and achievement.
“But we are even more gratified with our No. 1 ranking for interaction among students of different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds,” Leebron said. “Diversity at Rice isn’t just a matter of statistics, but how our students actually experience their education.”
Since 2007, Rice has previously been in the top 10 rankings for race/class interaction seven times, the top ten rankings for happiest students six times and within the top five for best of life eight times.
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