The Happiest College Students in the Nation

Coming in at number one for the happiest college students in the nation … College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Princeton Review The Best Colleges 2019 Edition ranked William and Mary College number one in student happiness out of 384 schools, after surveying 138,000 students in the process.

With 6,285 students, William and Mary is a medium-size public university founded in 1697, with undergraduate and graduate programs. According to Ginger Ambler, vice president of student affairs, “No one ranking can accurately paint a complete picture of life at W&M, but looking at these Princeton rankings together — happiest students, quality of life, love for one’s university, campus diversity and more — tells me that W&M is a place where students are finding deep meaning and fulfillment.”

The student-teacher ratio is 11:1 and almost half of the classes have fewer than 20 students. That in a nutshell is the academic advantage of going to a small- or medium-size college. Consistent with the ranking is another often-overlooked but important statistic: The average freshman retention rate is 95%. In other words, students come back. They feel supported, they like the campus and they like the life.

The top 20 colleges for happiest students:

1. College of William and Mary (Virginia)
2. University of Oklahoma (Oklahoma)
3. Vanderbilt University (Tennessee)
4. Tulane University (New Orleans)
5. Rice University (Texas)
6. Saint Anselm College (New Hampshire)
7. Clemson College (South Carolina)
8. Kansas State University (Kansas)
9. Colby College (Maine)
10. Brown University (Rhode Island)
11. Frank W. Olin College of Engineering (Massachusetts)
12. University of Dayton (Ohio)
13. Fairfield University (Connecticut)
14. Virginia Tech (Virginia)
15. University of California, Santa Barbara (California)
16. University of Vermont (Vermont)
17. Sacred Heart University (Connecticut)
18. Clark University (Massachusetts)
19. Auburn University (Alabama)
20. University of Iowa (Iowa)

Sources:

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/best-colleges

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=happiest-students

https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2018/wms-students-ranked-happiest-in-the-nation.php

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/william-and-mary-3705