We’ve always known that Richmond benefits from great leadership, but it’s nice to see other people recognize and praise the remarkable vision and ability of our administration and faculty at UR.

This week, The Princeton Review ranked Richmond as the No. 1 Best-Run College in the country and named UR among the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education. We have been on this list before, but this year, we took the number one spot.

Richmond has graced Princeton Review’s annual review each year the book has been published.  In addition to the best-run distinction, Princeton Review also named UR to the top 20 lists in five categories:

• #6 Best Classroom Experience
• #6 Most Beautiful Campus
• #12 Most Popular Study Abroad Program
• #16 Lots of Greek Life
• #20 Best Athletic Facilities

We’re grateful for the validation of hard work our faculty and staff put into making UR a place of unparalleled opportunity, and we never take this praise for granted, especially since it comes from our students. 

UR students, whose survey responses guide Princeton Review’s rankings, praised UR’s “unparalleled resources,” particularly the “high number of research, internship, and study abroad opportunities available.”

And Richmond’s commitment to financial aid and accessibility continues to shine. We’re among 1 percent of schools who are need-blind in admissions decisions and who also meet 100 percent of demonstrated need. As, one student noted, “Richmond is incredibly generous with not only need-based but merit-based aid, which is unusual for liberal arts colleges of a similar caliber.”

This sort of news puts a spring in our step, even in the late-summer heat on campus. It also makes us even more excited to welcome back our students when they arrive in less than three weeks.

Go, Spiders!