The Princeton Review ranks Elon among the nation’s ‘best-run colleges’

The 2025 edition of "The Best 390 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 390 Colleges: 2025 Edition” was released Tuesday, Aug. 27, 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 2025” ranking lists based on a nationwide survey of 168,000 students about their experiences at their schools. Elon’s profile includes several recognitions, including:

#10 Best-Run Colleges

#13 Best College Theater

#15 Best Campus Food

#20 Best Career Services

#20 Best College Dorms

“The colleges we profile in our book are truly a select group: they constitute about 15% of America’s four-year institutions. We chose them primarily based on our high opinion of their academic offerings,” said Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review and author of The Best 390 Colleges. “The colleges that make our book’s ranking lists do so entirely as a result of the opinions of their customers—students attending the colleges—who complete our 89-question survey about their school.”

2025 Princeton Review Best Colleges guidebook coverThe 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 168,000 students (about 430 per college on average) were tallied for the rankings lists for 2025. The surveys were conducted in 2023-24 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.

This is the 20th consecutive year Elon has appeared in the Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges” guide. The Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges” book premiered in 1992 and is 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.