The Princeton Review: Baruch College is one of the Nation’s “Best 386 Colleges”

High praise for academic programs, career service programs, and campus life

August 18, 2020

Baruch College is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduates to earn their degrees, according to The Princeton Review’s annual guidebook that helps prospective applicants determine which school is the best fit for them.

The 2021 edition of The Best 386 Colleges surveyed 143,000 students nationwide about their school’s academics, campus life, and student body. The guidebook profiles only 14 percent of 2,800 four-year colleges in the United States.

Recognition for Academic Excellence

In its profile of Baruch College, The Princeton Review praises the institution for having strong academic programs. Baruch College’s three schools—Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and Zicklin School of Business—are “located in Manhattan and take full advantage of being in ‘the greatest city of the world.’” Highly qualified undergraduates may apply to the Baruch College Honors program, which offers scholarships, small seminars and honors courses. Students can also study abroad through programs in more than 30 countries.

Student surveys compliment Baruch for having “a wide variety of courses” and “the school offers ad-hoc majors, which allows students to design programs that will support their career goals.” Respondents noted Baruch’s low in-state tuition, as well as reasonable out-of-state, which means that many “go to school while already working in interesting and impressive positions…”

“Though this is not a research university, there are a ‘vast amount of resources’ that are available to the students here. The education system is ‘well organized and up to date with the current world…’”

The survey responses also pointed to the caliber and expertise of Baruch’s faculty: “it is clear that the professors at Baruch have first-hand experience in the material they are teaching to students.”

Internship Opportunities Abound

Baruch students commend the College for its support to help students advance their professional goals. “There is ‘an impressive number of career development programs on campus that are free of charge and readily available to all students.’” For students, the College’s location makes it an idea place to launch a career. “Baruch is tied with many companies in New York, which creates even more opportunities for internships as well as job opportunities.”

‘A Hive of Activity’

According to the survey, Baruch students come from all over the world and the College is “full of bright and ambitious minds.” As a commuter school, students highlight how the school has “such an involved student body” where “there is a sense of community through clubs and extracurriculars.”

Students said the College’s North Vertical Campus building is a “hive of activity” and when “your eyes look at the breathtaking view of the building, it makes you feel proud to be a Baruchi!”

As one student exclaimed: “This is New York City, which means ‘you can practically do ANYTHING with your day.’”

At-a-Glance

The Princeton Review’s guidebook includes rankings in areas that address social aspects of campus life. Baruch received high marks in the following categories:

• #4 Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch
• #4 Got Milk?
• #5 College City Gets High Marks
• #8 Don’t Inhale
• #10 Stone-Cold Sober Schools

Baruch was also named in two additional Princeton Review’s guidebooks:

• Best Value Colleges
• Best Northeastern Colleges

Methodology

The Best 386 Colleges is the 29th 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 does not rank colleges in its guidebook. Instead, it reports 62 ranking lists of top 20 schools in the book in various categories important to prospective applicants and their parents. The rankings in this edition are based on the company’s surveys of 143,000 students at the 386 schools in the book. Learn more about the rankings here.

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