Publication’s annual reviews place CU in line with last year’s rankings
While CU’s academic scorecard was on par with last year’s rankings in the US News and World Report, the school vaulted into the top 20 as a haven for pot smokers.
The Princeton Review, a student-aid publication and online site, ranked CU 15th on its “Reefer Madness” list based on student surveys conducted at schools across the country. In its annual “America’s Best Colleges” ranking, US News and World Reports listed CU as 35th in public universities and 79th overall.
“I expected the pot ranking,” said McKenzie Rieder, a freshman environmental studies major. “Boulder is a hippie town, but it’s not like people are smoking in the street.”
Most colleges are known for marijuana use, added her friend Holly Adinoff, a freshman environmental biology major. At least CU is off the drinking list, she said.
Last year, US News ranked CU 34th among public universities, but the school gained ground in other areas.
The law school made the most dramatic leap in the listings. Following a year of construction and completion of the new Wolfe Law building, the school ranked 36th among law schools as compared to 43rd last year.
The engineering school also crawled ahead one spot from last year to 33rd. However, the business school fell from 37th to 41st.
Individual graduate school emphasis ranking were not updated this year, but CU topped the list of optical physics programs in 2006 and had several programs in the top 20 in 2007 including business entrepreneurship, 18th; aerospace engineering, 18th; and civil engineering, 19th.
Colorado State University ranked 62nd among public universities and 124th overall. The Princeton Review ranked CSU eighth on its “Class Discussions Rare” listing, which means that overall class time is devoted to lecture rather than discussion.
Contact Campus Press news editor Cassie Hewlings at cassie.hewlings@thecampuspress.com
