Claremont, Calif. (August 7, 2018)—The Princeton Review has ranked Pitzer College #1 in Most Active Student Government and #2 in Most Politically Active Students in its The Best 384 Colleges 2019 Edition. The College was also named a 2019 Best Western College. In total, Pitzer is included in nine of the edition’s 62 “Top 20” rankings, including Best College Dorms and Best Campus Food.
Washington State Supreme Court Justice and alumnus Steven Gonzalez ’85 speaks at a Pitzer College Student Senate event.
Pitzer’s top rankings on the active student lists reflect the College’s Core Value of Student Engagement. Since Pitzer’s founding, students have been active members of college governance, making decisions about everything from academic policies to hiring decisions to building design. The Student Senate’s Mindful of the Future Speaker Series has brought prominent national leaders and thinkers to campus, including US presidential and Senate candidates, a Washington State Supreme Court justice and a New York Times columnist.
Based on student ratings, Pitzer ranked #15 on the Best College Dorms list. The College’s emphasis on environmental sustainability has shaped Pitzer’s on-campus housing. In 2001, Pitzer committed itself to expanding in environmentally responsible ways and proving that green blueprints could shrink carbon footprints. The 2003 Housing Master Plan proposed new residence halls designed with both architectural flair and eco-friendly features. Since 2007, Pitzer has completed eight Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum- or Gold-certified mix-used residential buildings that include more than 40 sustainable features. Nearly 75 percent of students living on campus reside in LEED-certified buildings.
McConnell Dining Hall, Pitzer College
This year, Pitzer ranked #17 for Best Campus Food. Each year, the College is lauded for offering one of the country’s best on-campus dining experiences. Much of the food served in McConnell Dining Hall is organic, locally sourced and prepared within 48 hours of harvest. The chefs and dining hall staff prepare meals from scratch and are encouraged to showcase various cuisines, home recipes and cooking techniques that support healthy eating. The dining hall’s trayless dining and reusable to-go containers help reduce food and trash waste.
In recent years, The Princeton Review has also named Pitzer on its lists of Colleges That Create Futures, Colleges That Pay You Back and Green Colleges.
The Best 384 Colleges rankings are based on surveys of 138,000 students at top colleges that include wide representation by region, size, selectivity and character. Published annually since 1992, the Princeton Review’s Best Colleges series 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.
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