<p>Every year Princeton Review produces a college guide, in print and online, that gives info on the nation's top colleges, this year it's the top 377 of them. Unlike other ranking systems, it makes lists of the top 20 schools in various categories such as: Happiest Students; Students Who Study Most; Best Career Services; etc. The rankings are created by surveying students and analyzing the data. The new lists are out and this is how Whitman College fared. It certainly shows that Whitties value their time on campus!</p>
<p>Just got back from move in and I can attest to the high ranking for Best Run School. Move in was a breeze! Hordes of friendly frat boys unloaded our car and hauled all of our daughter’s stuff up to her room on the top floor. Dorm room has lots of storage for the “way too much stuff” my daughter brought. Daughter got her ID card, mail box, library account etc all done with a grand total of five minutes in line. Roommate seems like a great match. All of the parent orientation events we on schedule and useful. I am even more impressed now that I have seen Whitman in action!</p>
<p>At Family Weekend we went to see the production of “Noises Off”, it was terrific! I can see why the theater department has made it into the rankings.</p>
<p>My D is a senior and has had a wonderful experience at Whitman. It could be #1 on another list: “Best college that most people have never heard of.”</p>
<p>After a year of lurking and reading posts in this Whitman thread (many from you, Bompampo - thank you - they were very helpful) , I feel it’s time to contribute. My son is a first year from the East Coast. In the Spring of junior year I had never heard of Whitman and we weren’t looking at any West Coast schools. By October he/we were very taken with it and a November visit last year confirmed all that we had gleaned about the school, the administration and the overwhelming openness and positivity from the student body. On the last day he could, he converted his RD application to ED because “I just really love this school.” Pure and simple. One year later, three months in, he would say the same statement. He has loved the school since he unpacked that first August day. Not a single complaint: classes, professors, the campus, his many friends, the outdoors program, the cultural life, the fun, the challenge of the work. We looked long and hard, in his case, for the right social fit, above all, and he found it. It is a school with a particular, self-selecting type of student. Raising the national profile would be my only concern, as few Easterners have heard of it, but Whitties being Whitties – that probably would not be their highest priority anyway.</p>
<p>rampions, thanks so much for posting! Whitman has been all we were hoping for and more. I’m so enthusiastic about the school I find myself cheerleading, the students themselves are so engaged in their lives they don’t often drop in to CC. For those particular students who find it a good fit, it’s an amazing college experience. </p>
<p>It’s a little like Whitman has an invisibility cloak draped over it, as gratefuldad pointed out. And it’s not just under the radar on the east coast, we’re in California and had to do a lot of research to find it. It’s certainly well regarded in academic circles, but the general public, including guidance counselors aren’t very aware of it. It’s not really that I care that I get blank stares when I say where my son goes to college, I’m just afraid that some prospective Whittie won’t find it without a little help.</p>