Just in time for the next round of college applications, the Princeton Review announced its latest round of college ranking guides, but this year the guides will include a green ranking of universities, among the other rankings like best program for a particular degree category, as well as colleges with the best campus social life. 534 schools were included in this ranking, with most progressive campuses earning Honor Roll status.

The findings are based on a compilation of scores from several categories, including environmental practices, policies and course offerings. Each category then looked at more specific action items such as energy efficiency, food options, as well as long term goals such as how well students are being prepared for “employment and citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges.” Schools were given a score between 60 and 99 demonstrating their extent of
sustainability and commitment to the environment.

Green Honor Roll section gives high marks to 11 out of the 99 top green colleges, designating these universities as the best of the best as far as green is concerned. The top 11 Honor Roll universities {in alphabetical order} are Arizona State University {Tempe Campus}, Bates College {Lewiston, ME}, College of the Atlantic {Bar Harbor, ME}, Emory University {Atlanta, GA}, Georgia Institute of Technology {Atlanta, GA}, Harvard College {Cambridge, MA}, State University of New York at Binghamton, University of New Hampshire {Durham, NH}, University of Oregon {Eugene, OR}, University of Washington {Seattle, WA}, and finally Yale University {New Haven, CT}.

The rankings can be found in their three upcoming college ranking books, The Best 368 Colleges, The Best Northeastern Colleges and The Complete Book of Colleges. The Princeton Review also offers Green College Guides online comparing green rankings and with other characteristics like quality of life and economics. The School Visit section provides a list of questions prospective students should ask when determining if a campus really takes green seriously.

Colleges that made the ranking are really taking going green seriously throughout the entire student life. In order to qualify in the top one hundred, they had to do more than offer a few organic choices in the cafeteria and put out a few recycling bins. These institutions are taking on projects outside their campus borders and making strategic long-term plans for the university that will give the campus a virtual carbon-neutral footprint. These schools are developing leaders, as well as providing leadership in how they directly take on issues right on campus.

The Princeton Review offers test prep courses, books, and online materials geared towards college prep. The Princeton Review and EcoAmerica, an environmental nonprofit research and marketing firm, prepared the Green College Ranking based on surveys by over 120,000 students currently attending college at 368 institutions.
www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/green-college-rankings-by-princeton-review.php