Princeton Review Honors Westminster as One of Best in Midwest

Westminster College has been named one of the Best Colleges in the Midwest for the 17th year in a row by The Princeton Review, the nationally known education services company that ranks higher education institutions annually through a detailed assessment process and publishes their findings. 

Only 159 colleges and universities from the 12 Midwestern states in the region were selected for this honor in the Best of the Midwest section of the “2020 Best Colleges: Region by Region” which The Princeton Review posted last week on its website. 

“Our Westminster community is honored to be recognized nationally again for the academic excellence of our programs, the successful outcomes a Westminster education provides for our students, and the satisfaction our students feel for a Westminster education,” says Dr. Fletcher Lamkin, President of Westminster.  “Westminster is definitely on the move, exceeding expectations for educational quality. Our graduates are leaders of character who find the power in their purpose here and leave us to make a difference around the world.” 

The 12 states classified as the Midwestern region include Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. 

In all, a total of 656 colleges and universities were recommended in the list by The Princeton Review in five different regions: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West, and International. 

Collectively, these 656 colleges and universities selected to appear on “regional best” lists in The Princeton Review represent only 22 percent of the nation’s 3,000 four-year colleges. 

In its profile on Westminster, The Princeton Review describes the College as “a beautiful, small campus that creates a very tight-knit community.” 

“We chose Westminster and the other outstanding institutions on this list primarily for their academics,” says Robert Franek, Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Review.   

He noted that the company considered data from its survey of administrators at several hundred colleges in each region, information from staff visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of college counselors and advisors whose perspective the company solicits. 

“We also consider what students enrolled at the schools reported to us on our student survey about their campus experience,” Franek says. 

Many Westminster students when surveyed pointed out “the student-to-faculty ratio” that guarantees “a lot of individual attention from my teachers” and chose the school because “it has excellent classes and academic standards” and “everyone at the school genuinely cares about your success.” 

Another student observed, “We study hard during the week and have fun on the weekend. There is always something to do no matter who you are or what you like.” 

One student summarized life at Westminster by saying, “As I walked around campus, I felt at home. Westminster is more than just a school; it’s a home and community. It wasn’t just a place to go get an education, but rather a place to learn to grow up.” 

The Princeton Review does not rank colleges in its 2020 Best Colleges Region by Region website section.    

Information on Westminster and other Best in the Midwest Colleges may be found on The Princeton Review’s website feature “2020 Best Colleges Region by Region” on its site here.