University of Richmond Tops Princeton Review's List for Quality of Student Life

August 24, 2001

The Princeton Review's "The Best 331 Colleges" names the University of Richmond as the number one school in the nation for "best quality of life" in the just-released 2002 edition.

The annual guidebook surveyed some 60,000 college students about their lives outside the classroom, including location of the campus, comfort of dorms, food quality, ease of dealing with the administration, safety and beauty. It was the second time since 1999 that Richmond topped the category. Harvard occupied second place this year.

The university also ranked third on the book's "beautiful campus" list (ahead of Stanford, Harvard, Dartmouth, Davidson, Georgetown and others) and 12th for "happy students" (ahead of Boston College, Villanova, Boston University and others). In all three categories, Richmond has consistently been listed at or near the top for the past several years.

Washington and Lee University, ranked 19th, was the only other Virginia institution to make the "best quality of life" list.

Earlier this month, "The Fiske Guide to Colleges" named Richmond to its list of 43 best buys among America's colleges and universities. The university was among only 22 private institutions-and the only Virginia private university-to make the select group in the annual guidebook, which sifted the country's 2,200 four-year schools for those offering "remarkable educational opportunities at a relatively modest cost."