Photo caption: 2022 aerial shot of the UW-Eau Claire campus, 337 acres along the beautiful Chippewa River in Eau Claire.
The Princeton Review, a leading national education services company, released on Aug. 17 its annual “Best Regional Colleges” list for 2023, and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has made the cut for the third consecutive year in the Midwest category.
Each year, the website features a total of 655 colleges in the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West and International zones, schools considered to be “academically outstanding and well worth consideration in a college search.”
On the list of 158 colleges in the Midwest, UW-Eau Claire is one of four public universities in the state and one of just seven public institutions among the 25 schools named for Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Robert Franek, the Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief, noted that the company considers data from its survey of administrators from several hundred colleges in each region, information from staff visits to schools over the years and the opinions of college counselors and advisors solicited for input. Along with those factors, Franek says, student surveys also are issued to enrolled students at the schools.
Some notable features of UW-Eau Claire cited on the website include:
- “Astounding levels” of undergraduate research.
- Many well-established study abroad programs.
- Passionate, dedicated and accessible faculty.
- Beautiful campus setting with a small “private school feel.”
- Abundant leadership opportunities among 200 plus student organizations.
Isabel Walters, interim director of admissions at UW-Eau Claire, says the continued presence on national rankings like The Princeton Review helps to demonstrate the quality of educational experiences and opportunities Blugold students are able to find inside and outside of the classroom.
“There are so many exciting things happening at UW-Eau Claire in many areas – research, facilities development, partnership, study abroad/immersion – and countless new things on the horizon,” Walters says.
The Princeton Review’s 2023 lists of best colleges by region are available here.
