100 college reviews

Laura Milligan who writes a blog named LearningXL sent me the following list of 100 college reviews. I thought it was helpful, useful and fun. Check out #15 the rankings by squirrel population and health...

LearningXL

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100 Free College Rankings (Traditional, Unorthodox and Just Plain Crazy)

Posted in College Lifestyle on Nov 24, 2008

By Laura Milligan

When you’re researching colleges, online schools and graduate universities, you’ve got a lot of choices to make. From academics to student-faculty ratios to the most diverse and even most attractive student bodies, which aspect of campus life is most important to you? Before you get too overwhelmed trying to find the best university ranking, take a look at our list of 100 different kinds of college rankings, from the traditional to rankings that measure demographics to ones that estimate your chances of striking it rich after graduation. Getting accepted is up to you.

Traditional

Check out these rankings first if you’re starting your college research from scratch.

1. Princeton Review Academics: View rankings for Best College Library, professors, financial aid and more.
2. U.S. News and World Report National Universities: This list features one of the most prestigious college rankings around.
3. Forbes: America’s Best Colleges 2008: This list ranks the Top 50 Overall, Top 25 Public, Top 25 Private, and even 30 Surprises.
4. College Prowler Academics: Browse schools by their College Prowler grade: A+, A, A-, B+ and so on.
5. College Rankings: America’s Best Colleges: AOL’s list includes top schools like Princeton, Harvard, Yale, California Institute of Technology and more.
6. The Top 50: College Humor’s list ranks Penn State, University of Florida and Virginia Tech as the top 3.

Business Schools

Check out these business school rankings to learn about specialty programs, executive programs and online schools.

7. 2008 Best Business Schools and Specialty Programs: Yahoo! Education’s lists cover best business schools overall, best Executive MBA programs and more.
8. Executive MBA Rankings: The Wall Street Journal’s ranking reviews each program and school in great detail.
9. Bschool.com: Research the Top Online Colleges with business programs here.
10. Best Schools by Specialty: BusinessWeek’s list helps business students find the best school for them by major–such as finance, management and consulting, marketing, and more.
11. The Best U.S. B-Schools of 2008: This interactive ranking lists Chicago’s Booth school in the top spot.
12. Top 50 Entrepreneurial Colleges for 2008: This list features both undergrad and graduate programs.

Atypical Rankings

From great schools for average students to rankings that are based on the campus squirrel population, these off-the-wall rankings are a lot of fun and strangely useful.

13. Parties: The Princeton Review’s Parties rankings include lists like Reefer Madness and Lots of Hard Liquor.
14. Up and Coming Schools: Forget Ivy Leagues. These schools are the ones everyone will be talking about in the next few years.
15. The Campus Squirrel Listings: Check out this ranking system to find out why "the quality of an institution of higher learning can often be determined by the size, health and behavior of the squirrel population on campus."
16. Best Social Life: According to StudentsReview, students at Tulane, Dartmouth and University of Missouri - Columbia have the best social life in the U.S.
17. A+ Options for B Students: Just because you’re not at the top of your class doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to go to a good school. Look for more options here.

Medical and Nursing Schools

Here you can find rankings and stats for medical schools and nursing schools.

18. Top 10 Medical Schools: You’ll find two separate lists for research schools and primary care schools.
19. Best Medical Schools: U.S. News and World Report ranked Harvard the best medical school in 2008. Find out who else made the list.
20. Medical School Rankings: This list ranks schools based on MCAT average and acceptance rate.
21. SDN PreMeds’ Medical School Index: The Student Doctor Network ranks nearly 150 medical schools here.
22. Nursing School Rankings: The Nursing Online Education Database ranks online degree programs here.
23. Guide to Health Programs: U.S. News and World Report ranks public health, pharmacy and nursing programs here.
24. Top Schools for Nursing: Purdue University, University of Florida and Wheaton College round out the top 3 in this list.

Demographics

Find out which schools are the most diverse and the most welcoming to minority students here.

25. Demographics: The Princeton Review: Here you can find several rankings related to demographics, including Most Religious Students, Gay Community Accepted, and Diverse Student Population.
26. Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Twenty-five historically black colleges are ranked in this list, including Tuskegee University and Spelman College.
27. 25 Top Colleges for Hispanics: Hispanic Magazine ranks schools like Princeton, Amherst and Stanford as being some of the best schools for Hispanic students.
28. 100 best colleges niche factor: CosmoGirl! ranks the best colleges for women based on career services, health services, athletics for women and more.
29. Top 50 Colleges for Black Students: Morehouse, Hampton University and Spelman College are ranked as the top 3 in this list.
30. Top 10 Most Diverse Schools: These schools welcome the most diverse student bodies in the country.
31. Best Colleges for Asian Americans: This site lists the top 15 liberal arts schools and top 15 universities that are most welcoming to Asian American students.

Law Schools

For help researching the best law schools, including best value law schools, check out this list.

32. Law School Rankings: The Princeton Review’s rankings include lists like Best Career Prospects and Best Classroom Experience.
33. Top 2008 Law School Rankings: This ranking system uses qualifications like student-faculty ratio, educational quality and more.
34. Guide to Law Schools: Discover the best law schools here, based on tuition, specialty offerings and more.
35. Judging the Law Schools: Here you’ll find rankings based on the institutional index, diversity index, value, quality and more.
36. Composite Law School Rankings: The Consus Group lists Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and NYU as their top 5 schools.
37. Best Value Law Schools: If you dream of going to law school but aren’t sure you can afford it, check out this list.
38. Law School Rankings: This site ranks the top 20 law schools in the U.S.

Technology

These days, schools compete to offer the most advanced technology resources and the best wireless options. Research wireless campuses here.

39. America’s Most Connected Campuses: Find out which college campuses are the best for wireless access and more.
40. Top 100 Wireless Colleges: Indiana University, Purdue, and The University of Texas at Austin are ranked as the top 3 wireless campuses in this list.

Campus and Buildings

If a beautiful campus is very important to you, visit these rankings that come with photos of the university and its grounds.

41. The 20 Most Beautiful Colleges in the USA: View pictures of campuses like Wagner College, CUNY Brooklyn, Rhodes Colleges and others here.
42. The 20 Ugliest Colleges in the USA: By comparison, you can see photos of the ugliest campuses here.
43. Top 5 Most Beautiful College Campuses: Princeton, Pepperdine, and Agnes Scott College are included in this list.

Attractiveness Rankings

Going to college isn’t just about getting an education and preparing for a career. Find out which schools have the most attractive student bodies.

44. College Prowler - Girls: Schools that earn an A+ for hot girls include Loyola College in Maryland, Arizona State and Pepperdine.
45. Best Looking/Most Attractive Women: College Confidential’s message boards rate the campuses with the hottest women.
46. College Prowler - Guys: Only two universities earn an A+ ranking here: Texas A&M and University of Arizona.
47. Hottest Student Bodies: Top 50 Universities Ranked by Looks: This list comes with pictures.
48. Best, most attractive college towns: Discover the most attractive college towns here, from Austin to Baton Rouge.

Best Value Rankings

Discover best value schools and schools that accept the most financial aid here.

49. Top 10 Best Value Colleges: View the best value public and private colleges here.
50. Tuition and Costs — Data and Rankings: This blog ranks schools like Brigham Young University and the U.S. Naval Academy according to tuition and financial aid.
51. Top 100 Colleges by Highest Tuition: Bates College, Middlebury College and Colby College are ranked as the top 3 most expensive colleges in this list.

Buzz Schools

These up-and-coming schools are starting to get more attention. Find out why.

52. 25 Hottest Schools: Newsweek’s list ranks the hottest schools for sports fans, the hottest Ivy, hottest men’s college and more.
53. The 10 Coolest (and Greenest) Colleges in America: Sustainablog ranks the most environmentally conscious schools here.

Athletics

For rankings on sports programs and athletic facilities, turn to this list.

54. Rankings - Athletics: Schools like LSU, OSU and UT receive an A+ for athletics from College Prowler.
55. Athletics - Overall: This blogger ranked schools’ athletic programs according to football bowl wins, intramural programs, number of NCAA championships and more.
56. NCAA Statistics and Records: Browse sports statistics by sport or championship records to evaluate schools.
57. The Associated Press Top 25 Poll: Sports Illustrated’s poll features schools like Alabama, Texas Tech, Florida, Oklahoma and USC.
58. Extracurriculars: The Princeton Review finds out which schools have the most team spirit and offer the best athletic facilities.

Online Schools

Online schools offer a lot of flexibility. Find out which ones are the best deals and offer the best education here.

59. OEDB’s Online College Rankings: The Online Education Database’s list of online schools is helpful for distance learners and those going back to school.
60. Best Colleges and Universities Online: Check here for a wide range of online degree programs and schools.
61. Online and Distance Learning Reviews: Schools like DeVry, Central Pennsylvania College and Keller Graduate School of Management are graded here.
62. The Top 25 Online Degree Programs: Highly recommended schools ranked here include AIU Online, University of Phoenix and more.

International Rankings

If you’re looking to enroll in an international university, use these rankings as a guide to finding the most reputable schools.

63. The Best International B-Schools of 2008: BusinessWeek’s list helps students wanting to enroll in an international business school research tuition, job offers and more.
64. Ranking Web of World Universities: This site believes that high web rankings can sometimes equal prestige and a good reputation.
65. European MBA Rankings: Schools like the London Business School and HEC Paris round out the top 10 here.
66. Financial Times Business school rankings: This British paper lists the best MBA programs available.
67. Guardian University Guide: The Guardian’s University Guide ranks universities around the UK.
68. International Side by Side Rankings: Here you can compare the top rankings of business schools as determined by The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Asia Inc., India Times, and more.

Rankings by Students

If you’d like to know what students have to say about their university, check out these rankings.

69. Rate My Professors: Here students can recommend or warn other students about professors. Rankings are organized by hotness factor, homework, and level of difficulty.
70. College Prowler: This fun site is "written by students for students."
71. StudentsReview: The SR Dynamic University and College Rankings include lists like the Top Creative Schools, Most Beautiful Campus and The Top IVY.

Rankings by Region/Location

From Northeast to the Midwest to the West, these rankings are divided up by region.

72. Best Regional Colleges: Browse The Princeton Review’s best colleges in the Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and West.
73. 2007 Best Universities by Region: Browse universities that offer opportunities for degrees up to Master’s level in the Midwest, North, South and West here.
74. The Top Midwest Colleges: This website ranks and provides information for Midwestern colleges like Carleton College, St. Olaf College, Kalamazoo College and others.
75. Baccalaureate Colleges (West): If you want to go to college in a state like Texas, Oklahoma or Hawaii, check out this list.
76. Top 10 Southern Colleges by Salary Potential: PayScale rates Rice University, Georgetown, and Duke as offering the most successful career preparation and prospects for students.
77. Best Schools in California by Salary Potential: California has a plethora of colleges and universities to choose from. Use this list to find the one that will help you land a great job after graduation.
78. Baccalaureate Colleges (Midwest) Rankings: This 2009 list ranks Taylor University, Ohio Northern University and Augustana in the top 3.

Private Schools and Liberal Arts Universities

If you’ve decided that you want a liberal arts education, check out these rankings.

79. 100 Best Values in Private Colleges: Not all private schools are out of your reach. Find the best value schools here.
80. Liberal Arts Colleges: Amherst College tops the 2009 list. Find out the rest of the schools that are ranked by U.S. News and World Report here.
81. Top Colleges: Four-Year Liberal Arts Colleges in the U.S.: This guide reviews popularly ranked schools like Amherst College and Middlebury College.
82. Top Liberal Arts Colleges by Salary Potential: Bucknell University, Colgate University and Amherst College prepare students for high paying salaries, according to this ranking.

Public Schools

These rankings only feature public schools, so you don’t have to waste your time sorting through schools that won’t appeal to you.

83. 100 Best Values in Public Colleges: Kiplinger’s list is a great resource for students operating on a budget.
84. Top Public Schools: National Universities: More than 65 public universities like UVA, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and College of William and Mary are ranked here.
85. Top Public Universities: Here you’ll find reviews of some of the best state-funded universities, like Georgia Tech, UCLA, and UNC - Chapel Hill.
86. Top State Universities by Salary Potential: PayScale reports that graduates from University of California, Berkeley, UVA and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo earn competitive salaries.

Art Schools

For rankings of art schools, turn to this list.

87. Best Graduate Schools Fine Arts: RISDE, Yale and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago are ranked in the top 3 on this list.
88. The Best Design Schools in the World: BusinessWeek has ranked 60 design schools "from Arizona State to Zollverein."
89. Design School Rankings: This article reviews different rankings systems and explains the methodology used for ranking design schools.
90. Top Creative Schools: StudentsReview ranks Dartmouth, University of California - Irvine and Brown University among the top creative schools in the country.

Engineering Schools

Here you’ll find rankings of engineering schools in the U.S.

91. Engineering School Rankings: Review rankings criteria and lists from different websites here.
92. Best Engineering Schools: Find out how U.S. News and World Report ranked the country’s engineering schools in 2008.
93. Top Engineering Schools: You might be surprised by the schools that top this list.

Graduate Schools

Graduate students will find that these rankings and lists are very helpful.

94. America’s Best Graduate Schools: Browse graduate schools by academic discipline here.
95. 2008 Best Graduate Schools and Programs: Browse graduate programs in education, engineering, health, science, social science and the humanities.
96. America’s Top Grad Schools: Read CBS’ report here.
97. The Top American Research Universities: View reports from 2000-2006.
98. PhDs.org: The Customized Graduate School Rankings tool will help you find the best program and school for your goals.

Miscellaneous

For even more college rankings and lists, visit these sites.

99. Study Abroad Program Search: Peterson’s list can help you find the best schools with the best study abroad options.
100. Top 10 Schools with the Happiest Students: According to this list, students at Clemson University and Brown University are the happiest college students in the U.S.