Virginia Tech ranked No. 1 for Best Quality of Life by the 2017 Princeton Review

Virginia Tech has been named No. 1 in two categories in the widely read Princeton Review rankings for 2017. Virginia Tech received the top score for “Best Quality of Life” and “Their Students Love These Colleges” among 381 colleges and universities nationwide.

“Virginia Tech is a school with a reputation as big as its campus,” the Princeton Review said. Quoting students, it went on to state, “Known for its ‘beautiful campus, amazing community feel, top-notch engineering field,’ and as a ‘good value’ — not to mention its renowned athletics — Virginia Tech offers ‘a perfect blend of challenging and fun, encompassed in an unparalleled community feel’.”

That blend of challenging and fun is what distinguishes Virginia Tech, according to Vice President for Student Affairs Patty Perillo.

“It used to be customary to think of a student’s life as divided into two distinct segments: academic learning and everything else that happens outside the classroom,” said Perillo. “But what we know is that learning can, and does, take place in many different places — in residence halls, on playing fields, by participation in clubs and organizations, and through engagement with the campus and surrounding community. At Virginia Tech, we know that intellectual curiosity is not ‘checked at the door’ when a student leaves the classroom. There is profound potential for learning in everything they do.”

Virginia Tech also ranked No. 4 in “Best Campus Food” as well as No. 7 in the categories of “Happiest Students,” “Lots of Race/Class Interaction,” and “Town-Gown Relations are Great,” according to the Princeton Review survey that asked 143,000 students from across the country to rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their experiences.

Princeton Review’s annual Best Colleges book is published each August, with popular rankings of top colleges in 62 categories. Princeton Review's ranking lists were posted Monday, Aug. 29, and can be accessed in full for free with registration. The Princeton Review's book, "The Best 381 Colleges—2017 Edition," published by Penguin Random House, went on sale Aug. 30. It will be available Oct. 11 in an e-book edition. It is the 25th annual publication of the book.

More information about the rankings’ methodology is available online.