The basics:

• The Princeton Review names 11 NJ schools to Best 392 Colleges for 2027
• Unranked list based largely on academic quality, student feedback
• Guide also ranks colleges in 50 categories, based solely on student surveys

The Princeton Review unveiled its Best 392 Colleges list Aug. 18. Within New Jersey, 11 higher education institutions appear on this year’s compilation.

The New York-based education services company presented its overall best colleges findings in a comprehensive, unranked alphabetical list.

According to The Princeton Review – which is not affiliated with Princeton University – it chose colleges on the overall list “primarily based on our high opinion of their academics.”

The editors determine those opinions on data from more than 2,000 schools; site visits; interviews with administrators; and feedback from students, parents, educators and Princeton Review staff.

The publication noted that any college considered for the guide must agree to allow the editors to conduct independent surveys of its students.

New Jersey universities named to The Princeton Review’s Best 392 Colleges for 2027:

Listed in alphabetical order

• The College of New Jersey, Ewing
• Drew University, Madison
• Monmouth University, West Long Branch
• Montclair State University, Montclair
• New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark
• Princeton University, Princeton
• Rider University, Lawrenceville
• Rowan University, Glassboro
• Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Piscataway
• Seton Hall University, South Orange
• Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken

“The colleges we profile in The Best 392 Colleges vary by type, size, locale, and campus culture. In our opinion, each one offers an academically outstanding undergraduate education,” said Rob Franek, lead author of the book and editor-in-chief at The Princeton Review.

A Drew University graduate, Franek noted the colleges listed comprise about 14% of the nearly 2,800 four-year colleges in the U.S.

Students weigh in

The Best 392 Colleges report also features 50 ranked categories that include the top 25 colleges within each section. Categories include aspects of college life such as academics, financial aid, extracurriculars, the social scene and more.

To determine its findings, The Princeton Review surveyed 172,000 students at the selected 392 schools. That’s about 440 students per school on average, the company noted. Students received a 98-question survey that asked them to rate their colleges on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences, according to The Princeton Review.

“The colleges that make our ranking lists in the book do so entirely as a result of their own students’ opinions of them,” Franek said.

“For 35 years, our goal for this project has been to create multiple ranking lists and resources to help college applicants answer what is likely the toughest but also the most important question in their journey to college: ‘Which college is best for me?'”

The Princeton Review Editor-in-Chief Rob Franek talks more about the findings (provided by The Princeton Review):

The Best Colleges of 2027 is posted online and can be searched free of charge. The Princeton Review also offers the findings in a published version.

The Princeton Review’s Best Colleges guide debuted in 1992 as the first entirely student-survey-based college rankings, the company said.

The breakdown

Several New Jersey universities landed on the top 25 lists of the Princeton Review’s 50 individual categories, based entirely on student surveys:

Academics & Administration

Best Student Support and Counseling Services

No. 2: Stevens Institute of Technology
No. 5: Seton Hall

Great Financial Aid

No. 3: Princeton University

Students Study the Most

No. 5: Princeton University

Campus Life

LGBTQ-Unfriendly

No. 12: Rowan University
No. 20: Monmouth University

Little Race/Class Interaction

No. 9: Monmouth University

It’s worth noting that Rowan University’s profile on The Princeton Review said students believe the “university greatly values inclusivity and the ideal of providing a welcoming environment for all.” While Monmouth’s student section described the university as an “extremely diverse and integrated campus and everyone is very polite and has manners.”

Extracurriculars

Best College Newspaper

No. 18: Princeton University

Best College Radio Station

No. 1: Seton Hall University
No. 21: Rider University

Best College Theater

No. 8: Drew University

Students Love Their School Teams

No. 13: Seton Hall University

Politics

Most Active Student Government

No. 20: Seton Hall University

Most Politically Conservative Students

No. 23: Monmouth University

Most Politically Moderate Students

• No. 11: New Jersey Institute of Technology
• No. 13: Stevens Institute of Technology
• No. 14: Rowan University

Quality of Life

Best Quality of Life

No. 21: Stevens Institute of Technology

College Dorms Not So Fancy

No. 13: Rider University

Social Scene

Pot’s Not Hot

No. 9: Princeton University

Cancel the Keg (how widely students believe beer is used at their schools)

No. 17: Montclair State University

Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch (based on student feedback of hard liquor use at their schools)

No. 16: Montclair State University

Town Life

College City Gets High Marks

No. 3: Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken)