Clark University is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduates to earn their college degree, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company profiles and recommends Clark in the 2020 edition of its annual college guide, “The Best 385 Colleges.”
Only about 13 percent of America’s 3,000 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 who rate and report on various aspects of their campus and community experiences for this project.
The university’s profile quotes Clark students, who state the school is a “‘very diverse institution’ that draws students from all over the world,” and extols Clark’s Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP) learning model, which combines academics with practical and experiential learning. The LEEP curriculum gives students “a strong foundation in a traditional liberal arts education while also connecting them with opportunities to apply what they’ve learned,” the profile adds.
Students who were surveyed about their experiences describe Clark as a place that encourages them to “think critically and from different perspectives”; students also report that the LEEP Advising Network provides “excellent aid in helping students with finding internships, improve résumés, and gain interview and writing skills, and can ‘open doors you didn’t even know were there.’”
The profile states students at Clark are “open-minded and unafraid to stand by their views, stances, and beliefs,” and are “highly engaged” in challenging social norms and fostering equality and mutual respect.
Clark appears on several of the Princeton Review’s 62 ranking lists of top 20 schools in various categories. The University is No. 11 on the list of “Impact Schools,” which measures the school’s community service opportunities, student government, sustainability efforts, and on-campus student engagement, and holds the No. 15 spot on the list of colleges with the “Most Liberal Students.” Clark is also among the “Best Northeastern Colleges,” “Best Value Colleges,” and “Green Colleges.” The rankings in the book are based on the company’s surveys of 140,000 students at the 385 schools in the book. More details about the methodology can be found online.
The “Best 385 Colleges” is the 28th annual edition of The Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges” book and one of 150 Princeton Review books in a line published by Penguin Random House. The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its tutoring, test-prep courses, books, and other student resources. Headquartered in New York, N.Y., it is not affiliated with Princeton University.