Mount Holyoke tops Princeton Review’s lists

Princeton Review ranks Mount Holyoke in the top 20 colleges and universities in the country in categories for academics, demographics and more.

By Christian Feuerstein 

Mount Holyoke College is one of the top 385 colleges in the country for 2020, according to The Princeton Review. The publication also ranked Mount Holyoke in the top 20 colleges and universities in categories for academics, demographics and extracurriculars. 

Mount Holyoke ranked No. 4 in the country for “Professors Get High Marks,” No. 8 for “Best College Library” and No. 12 for “Best Classroom Experience.” 

“It is always heartening when we see the values of our community reflected in rankings,” said President Sonya Stephens. “Recognition in The Princeton Review underscores Mount Holyoke’s academic excellence — an outstanding faculty and the library resources and professionals that support learning — as well as an inclusive community and engaged student body committed to advancing the College and the student experience.”

Mount Holyoke also ranked No. 2 overall for “LGBTQ-Friendly.” 

“We recognize the imperative of remaining vigilant and visible with our efforts as we continue to demonstrate our values in support of LGBTQ members of our campus community,” said Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion. “We will continue to affirm the gender and sexual diversity that exists at Mount Holyoke through intentional policies and practices focused on being a place worthy of such distinction.”

Other rankings include No. 6 for “Most Active Student Government,” No. 15 for “Most Beautiful Campus” and No. 21 for “Best Financial Aid.” 

Mount Holyoke also appears on several unranked lists, including “Best Northeastern Colleges,” “Best Value Colleges” and “Green Colleges.” 

“We chose the 385 colleges for this edition as our best overall, academically, based on data we gathered in 2018-19 from more than a thousand school administrators about their schools’ academic programs and offerings,” said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review. “We tally our lists using data we gather directly from students attending these colleges. Our survey asks the students about their professors, administrators, school services, campus culture and other facets of life at their schools.”