The Princeton Review college rankings are far from scientific, but the annual listicles offer an interesting look at what Rhode Island’s institutions of higher learning are good at, and what they are not so good at.
Providence College was the top ranked school having little race/class interaction. This means PC is either the worst in the nation at diversity, or the best at being white and upper class. Rhode Islanders shouldn’t be surprised, but now the nation knows about PC’s poor reputation with regard to race, class, and sexuality. PC was also flagged for its love of beer.
On the other side of the city, in a completely different socioeconomic neighborhood with a completely difference kind of school, Brown University ranked the 14th highest for most race/class interaction.
There were some stark comparisons between Brown and the University of Rhode Island, too.
Brown ranked 20th for students who study the most and URI ranked 20th for students who study the least. The Ivy League school in Providence is 20th most liberal and has 16th most tree-hugging vegetarians. The state school in Kingston, on the other hand, is the second least politically aware school in the nation. Brown students were lauded for the love of their school, coming in at 17th, URI students were lauded for their love of partying, coming in at 16th. Brown has the 8th best student newspaper (Congrats, Brown Daily Herald!), and URI has the 7th highest cannabis use (Congrats, South County growers!).
Meanwhile, Bryant University was in an unenviable position all by itself among local colleges and universities. The Pricenton Review concluded it has the 7th worst cafeteria food in the nation.