Ithaca College’s robust, high-quality educational offerings have once again been named some of the best in the country by the Princeton Review. In the 2021 edition of their annual guide to “The Best 386 Colleges,” IC was ranked highly in a trio of areas—#1 for best college theatre, #2 for best college newspaper, and #5 for best college radio station. Ithaca was also ranked #20 for “college city gets high marks,” based on student rankings of the towns and cities where the colleges that made the guide are located.
In addition to those rankings, the college was named to the “Best Northeastern” and “Green Colleges” lists. The latter listing is for schools that demonstrate strong commitments to green practices and programs.
Ithaca’s Department of Theatre Arts has long been considered one of the best in the country. Based in the School of Humanities and Sciences, students typically present half a dozen main-stage productions each year, as well as other productions on campus and in the community.
The college’s student-run newspaper, The Ithacan, and radio stations, 92-WICB and VIC Radio, are based in the Roy H. Park School of Communications. They routinely win state and national-level awards for their comprehensive news and sports coverage.
And the ranking for being in a location that gets high marks should come as no surprise, as Ithaca is regularly listed among the best college towns in America.
Of the thousands of four-year colleges and universities in America, only about 13% are included in the rankings, which are derived from data from surveys of 143,000 students at the 386 colleges. The Princeton Review does not rank colleges from 1 to 386 in the book. Instead, it reports the top 20 schools in each of its 62 ranking lists. Those lists cover eight general areas, encompassing all aspects of campus life.
In its profile of Ithaca College, the guide also highlights the multitude of academic opportunities afforded to students ,and notes that the students they surveyed cite IC’s small class sizes, personal attention from professors, and the ability to register for classes at Cornell University.
The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its test-prep courses, tutoring, guidebooks, and other student resources. The school profiles and ranking lists can be found on the Princeton Review's website, where they can be searched for free with site registration.