If your family is about to spend $40,000 a year to send your freshman off to Reed College in Portland, Ore., you can rest as??????2he will get the nation's top-ranked overall academic experience for undergrads. The one thing the Reed student won't get, however, is much time with God, at least according to the newest rankings released Aug. 22 by The Princeton Review.
Reed, a private liberal arts and sciences school, placed first in overall academic excellence in the annual survey of 110,000 college students, but it also topped the category of schools where “students ignore God on a regular basis.”
Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, the Mecca of Mormon higher education, was rated the nation's most religious university. Perhaps not surprisingly, BYU also was dubbed the “most stone-cold sober” campus in the country.
The Princeton Review ratings are based on student responses to a 70-question survey at 361 colleges and universities. Results were calculated from a five-point scale based on students' answers to the statement, “Students are very religious.”
Experts say the college experience has a dramatic impact on student spirituality. An ongoing $1.9 million study at the University of California-Los Angeles has shown that most students have found few outlets on campus to foster their spiritual development.
The UCLA surveys also found, for example, that regular attendance at worship services drops from 52 percent for freshmen to 29 percent for juniors.
The 20 most religious campuses, as rated by The Princeton Review:
1. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
2. Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill.
3. Grove City College, Grove City, Pa.
4. University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind.
5. Samford University, Birmingham, Ala.
6. University of Dallas, Irving, Texas.
7. Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Mich.
8. College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo.
9. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
10. Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
11. U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
12. William Jewell College, Liberty, Mo.
13. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
14. Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich.
15. Furman University, Greenville, S.C.
6. Pepperdine University, Malibu, Calif.
17. Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind.
18. Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
19. Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.
20. Bradeis University, Waltham, Mass.
The 20 least religious campuses, as rated by The Princeton Review:
1. Reed College, Portland, Ore.
2. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.
3. Eugene Lang College/New School University, New York.
4. Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.
5. Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Ore.
6. Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, N.Y.
7. Simon's Rock College of Bard, Great Barrington, Mass.
8. Bennington College, Bennington, Vt.
9. New College of Florida, Sarasota, Fla.
10. Emerson College, Boston
11. Mills College, Oakland, Calif.
12. Marlboro College, Marlboro, Vt.
13. Oberline College, Oberline, Ohio.
14. Macalaster College, St. Paul, Minn.
15. Wesleyan College, Middletown, Conn.
16. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
17. Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
18. Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa.
19. Carleton College, Northfield, Minn.
20. Pomona College, Claremont, Calif.
Religion News Service