Saint Michael’s featured again in The Princeton Review “Best 387” guide to colleges

Saint Michael’s College is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduates according to The Princeton Review.

The education services company profiles and recommends Saint Michael’s in the 2022 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 387 Colleges, published by Penguin Random House and released August 31, 2021. Only about 14 percent of America’s 2,700 four-year colleges are profiled in the book, which is one of The Princeton Review’s most popular publications. The company chooses the colleges for the book based on data it annually collects from administrators at hundreds of colleges about their institutions’ academic offerings. The Princeton Review also considers data it gathers from its surveys of college students at the colleges who rate and report on various aspects of their campus and community experiences.

“We salute Saint Michael’s for its outstanding academics and we are genuinely pleased to recommend it to prospective applicants searching for their ‘best-fit’ college,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief and lead author of The Best 387 Colleges.

In the profile on Saint Michael’s, The Princeton Review editors praise the school for the personal individual attention faculty members provide to each student. Quotes from Saint Michael’s students surveyed for the book include these comments: “At Saint Michael’s College, small classes help to ensure that you are not just another number in a lecture hall,” one states. The profile also quotes students about the great attraction of Burlington, particularly the Church Street Marketplace, and the “pretty chill” atmosphere at the College in general. A “typical student” is “self-described” as “…environmentally and politically aware, and always says ‘Hi,’” according to the Review under the heading “Student Body.” According to another quote in that section,  “Students are all different in regard to religions race, sexual orientations and genders”; and also, “Giving back to the community is a main theme in terms of the typical student …[and] ”nearly all students participate in at least one service project during their four years here.” Further, a quote in the section notes,  “students enjoy the outdoors that this great state provides for us.” The “Students Say” section concludes: “The overall consensus is that ‘If you’re genuine and true to who you are, you’re bound to do well at St. Mike’s.’”

Mike Stefanowicz ’09, director of admission at Saint Michael’s, said the admission team was “delighted to learn that Saint Michael’s College has again been included in the Princeton Review’s “Best 387 Colleges.”

Mike Stefanowicz

He said the editors “homed in on the testimonials of our students who engage purposefully in shared learning and cultural experiences. They embrace Edmundite values in the classroom and in campus life, with one foot firmly rooted in Vermont’s natural beauty and the other in Vermont’s largest city. This coveted accolade in college admission highlights that Saint Michael’s one-of-a-kind setting leads our students to success in rewarding internships and careers, and inspires students to lead lives of service.”

The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in the book from 1 to 387. For this, the 30^th anniversary edition of the book, the company curated “Great Lists” of colleges in 26 categories. The lists name the colleges that have had a distinctive history of appearances on the ranking lists in past editions of the book over the years. Some of the “Great List” categories are: “Great Financial Aid,” “Great Career Services” and “Great-Run Colleges.”   Each list names 16-29 colleges in alphabetical (not ranked) order. Saint Michael’s this year appears on the lists for “Great Town-Gown Relations” and “Great College Radio Station.”

 The Best 387 Colleges is one of 150 Princeton Review books in a line published by Penguin Random House.  It has been featured on NBC “TODAY” more than a dozen times, and referenced by reporters in publications from Inside Higher Education to The Wall Street Journal.

The Princeton Review (www.PrincetonReview.com) is an education services company known for its tutoring, test-prep courses, books, and other student resources. Headquartered in New York, NY, it is not affiliated with Princeton University.

The Princeton Review’s school profiles and 26 “Great Lists” in The Best 387 Colleges are posted at www.princetonreview.com/best385 where they can be searched for free with site registration.