UNCA featured in Princeton Review’s “The Best 384 Colleges,” 2019 edition

Press release from UNC Asheville:

UNC Asheville is once again featured as one of The Princeton Review’s best colleges. In the 2019 edition of “The Best 384 Colleges,” UNC Asheville is included in the comprehensive list for “Best Quality of Life.”

“We picked the 384 ‘best’ colleges for our book primarily for their outstanding academics; we highly recommend each one,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief and the book’s lead author. “However, we know applicants need far more than an academic rating or ranking to find the college that will be best for them. We created our 62 ranking lists to help narrow that search. They are based entirely on data we gather beyond academics that gives 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.”

“Our students speak volumes about the quality of their experience at UNC Asheville, and we thank the faculty, staff, community members and neighbors for making our campus a welcoming learning environment. From our classrooms and highly ranked academics to our newly renovated Highsmith Student Union and state-of-the-art residence halls, UNC Asheville is a place where students can feel at home,” said Bill Haggard, UNC Asheville vice chancellor for student affairs.

Students supplied the details through an 84-question survey, with those responses in most agreement or disagreement accounting for the resulting lists. The 2018 edition marks the second subsequent year that UNC Asheville received accolades along with the City of Asheville for the “Town-Gown Relations are Great” category, with opportunities for research, service, and hands-on experience mentioned by students.

Their agreement or disagreement with questions about religion, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity/expression also rank UNC Asheville on the “Least Religious Students” and “LGBTQ-Friendly” lists.

Lengthier responses are quoted the guide, and UNC Asheville students give credit to the people and place they’ve connected to for their college home:

One  student  says,  ‘because  western  North  Carolina  has  such  rich  history,  biodiversity,  and  social  issues,  it  attracts  wonderful  and  passionate  intellectuals,  and  as  a  result,  UNCA  has  an  exceptional  team  of  professors.’

Another explains, “Professors  are  ‘some  of  the  best  in  their  respective  fields’ and  ‘have  time  to  invest  interest  in  your  individual  advancement—not  only  in  the  course,  but  in  your  life…may  come  to  you  with  job,  internship  or  volunteer  opportunities.’

The  ‘town  and  the  mountains  make  living  here  an  exceptional  experience,’  says  another  student.  Another  praises  the  ‘vibrancy  of  Asheville’  as  a  music  student,  where  it  ‘was  crucial’  to  be  ‘in  a  rich  music  and  art  scene.’

All of it adds up to the overall Quality of Life accolade, which is based on students’ answers to several survey questions, including how they rate the beauty, safety and location of their campus, their campus residence halls 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.

One  of  The  Princeton  Review’s  most  popular  guides,  “The  Best  384  Colleges” rankings  are  based  on  surveys  of  138,000  students  at  384  top  colleges  that  includes  a  wide  representation  by  region,  size,  selectivity  and  character.  Published  annually  since  1992,  the  book  has  detailed  profiles  of  the  colleges  with  rating  scores  in  eight  categories  as  well  as  ranking  lists  of  top  20  schools  in  62  categories.  For  more  information  on  the  rankings  and  methodology  visit  www.princetonreview.com/ college-rankings/how-it-works.

UNC Asheville also garners a top spot in The Princeton Review’s “Colleges that Pay You Back,” released earlier this year, coming in at No. 2 in the “Making an Impact” category.

For more information about UNC Asheville, including ways to make an impact and ways to apply, visit unca.edu.

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