ALICIA YOUNG
Staff Writer
In the newest round of college rankings, Pepperdine may be the most beautiful according to The Princeton Review, but Seaver College slipped to 55 in the overall college ranking category by U.S. News & World Report.
The Princeton Review’s newest edition of “The Best 361 Colleges,” released Aug. 23, delivers no disappointments for Pepperdine. Having secured the No. 1 spot as most beautiful campus, students are pleased but not entirely surprised. Last year Pepperdine ranked No. 6 in the same survey.
“Most of us knew Pepperdine was one of the most beautiful colleges in America,” freshman Crystal Medina said. “The only difference is that now the rest of the nation will know, too,”
Pepperdine fell in the U.S. News ranking this year from No. 52 to 55. In 2002, Pepperdine peaked at 47.
Pepperdine also made appearances in other categories besides beauty in The Princeton Review survey.
The school ranked 13th in the “Alternative Lifestyles Not an Alternative” group, No. 16 for “Students Pray on a Regular Basis,” No. 7 for “Dorms Like Palaces” and No. 17 for “Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution.” Pepperdine was also listed in the top 122 Best Western Colleges. Each of the 57 categories include the top 20 and Pepperdine walked away with spots on six of these charts.
The Princeton Review’s college guides are based on surveys taken by students at colleges throughout the country.
Pepperdine Director of Public Relations and News Jerry Derloshon found the new rankings “gratifying to hear because our own students chose to say this more than students from any other school.”
However, Director of Admissions Paul Long said that he doesn’t put much stock in these rankings. He said that the reason why Pepperdine fell in the overall rankings is because the methodology changed as U.S. News began weighing categories differently.
“We’ve never touted the rankings,” Long said about whether the rankings attracting more students.
The results have already led to nationwide media coverage of the campus. The “Today Show” and 20 other new services have discussed Pepperdine and its position on the top of Princeton’s list.
On his immediate reaction to the rankings, Derloshon said, “It’s maybe the feeling that a beauty queen gets when the crown is placed on her head and she looks around at all of the other beautiful contestants.”
Pepperdine is one of the youngest “contestants” among the top 55 schools according to the U.S. News rankings. Three other schools are younger.
08-29-2005