Princeton Review names Furman top school for ‘impact’ in ‘best value’ guide

Once again, Furman University has been recognized as one of the top colleges in the country where students are making a difference in the world.

For the second straight year, Furman ranked ninth in The Princeton Review’s list of “The Top 25 Best Schools for Making an Impact” in its “Best Value Colleges” guide, which includes the country’s top 200 universities with the best return on investment.

The ranking is based on student ratings and responses to survey questions covering community service opportunities, student government, sustainability efforts and on-campus student engagement, according to The Princeton Review’s website. The ranking also considered the percentage of alumni who have reported having meaningful jobs.

“Furman is about academic excellence through engaged learning,” according to one student who replied to the publication’s survey.

Students also said the university’s faculty is “very willing to help their students” and the administration is “really accessible” and “they work with students to solve problems and genuinely care about making Furman a better school and not just a higher-ranking institution.”

“Our faculty and staff work diligently to make sure Furman students have opportunities to engage in meaningful work in and out of the classroom, and to help our students build skills necessary to be successful here and after they graduate,” said Furman University President Elizabeth Davis. “This ranking is an acknowledgement that Furman does this as well as any university in the country.”

Recently, the university received the 2020 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification for a commitment to, and activity toward, “finding ways to engage with community partners, building on community assets and addressing a wide array of community challenges.”

In the fall, U.S. News and World Report ranked Furman No. 5 for “Most Innovative Schools,” No. 3 for “Best Colleges for Veterans” and No. 12 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching” among national liberal arts and sciences colleges.

The university also ranks among the top-10 baccalaureate universities for sustainability and is second among all universities for sustainability research, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

The Princeton Review’s “Best Value Colleges” guide includes 200 schools “that share three exceptional features: stellar academics, affordable cost and strong career prospects for graduates.” This year’s rankings are based on institutional and student surveys collected from fall 2018 through fall 2019.