The 2024 edition of "The Best 389 Colleges" guide also recognizes Elon's career services, performing arts productions, residential facilities and dining options.
Elon University has again been named one of the best-run colleges in the country by The Princeton Review college guide, with the university recognized for excellence in academic and student life programs as well. “The Best 389 Colleges: 2024 Edition” was released Aug. 15 and recognizes the top 25 colleges in 50 categories that range from institutional operations to career services.
The Princeton Review publishes its “Best Colleges for 2024” ranking lists based on a nationwide survey of 165,000 students about their experiences at their schools. Elon’s profile includes several recognitions, including:
#8 Best-Run Colleges
#8 Best College Theater
#9 Top 20 Best Schools for Internships
#15 Best Career Services
#21 These Students Love These Colleges
#22 Best Campus Food
#22 Best College Dorms
“We created our rankings to provide a resource for college applicants that helps them answer what may well be the toughest question in their college search—‘What’s the best school for me?’” said Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review and lead author of “The Best 389 Colleges.” “Our selection of colleges for this book reflects our high opinion of the schools: we recommend each one as academically outstanding. Our ranking lists reflect the opinions of the school’s students—their customers—and their reports to us about their campus experiences.”
The guide notes that “the student-centered approach of North Carolina’s Elon University is woven throughout the many hallmarks of its education, which include global engagement, service learning and mentorship.” The university is recognized for its approach to experiential learning which students said was coupled with “many personalized resources that Elon provides to succeed beyond the classroom” and an “amazing support system of resources for everyone.”
One student responded that Elon provides “massive amounts of leadership opportunities and is very hands-on when it comes to helping students get internships.” Another noted that “many free learning labs and workshops all across campus that allow students to experience new concepts both in and out of the classroom.”
Students responded with praise for the faculty, noting that they serve “as teachers, but also as mentors for career and educational aspirations.” Another student responded that faculty members “will share their experience, knowledge and connections with students after they have finished the course … which makes students feel incredibly supported during their four years.”
The Princeton Review’s 85-question survey asks students to rate their professors, administrators, school services and other aspects of life at their colleges and to report on their campus and community experiences. Surveys of 165,000 students (about 424 per college on average) were tallied for the rankings lists for 2024. The surveys were conducted in 2022-23 and/or the previous two academic years. Information on the survey process and methodology for the ranking lists is on The Princeton Review’s website where it can be viewed here.
This is the 19th consecutive year Elon has appeared in the Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges” guide. The Best 388 Colleges is the 31st 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. It has been featured on NBC “TODAY” more than a dozen times, and referenced by reporters in publications from Inside Higher Education to The Wall Street Journal.
Elon has been repeatedly recognized by The Princeton Review for excellence. During the past year, the university was named a “Best Value College” and a “Green College” by The Princeton Review and the Love School of Business’s MBA program was listed among the best in the country. In February, The Princeton Review named Elon Law as one of the best law schools in the country.