The Princeton Review published its annual college rankings today, and Southwestern University continues to gain momentum and bolster its national reputation. In The Best 386 Colleges: 2021 Edition, the company’s 29th edition of the guide, Southwestern climbed from #3 in the past two years to #2 in the nation among Impact Schools. The Center for Career & Professional Development also rose from #6 to #3 in the nation—and keeps its position as #1 in Texas—for Career Services, with the university earning the #13 spot in the nation—and #2 in Texas—among the best schools for placing students in internships. SU garnered additional rankings as #17 in the country and #2 in Texas for Best Health Services and #20 in the country and #2 in Texas for Best Counseling Services. SU was further acknowledged in The Princeton Review’s unranked lists of Best Value Colleges, Green Colleges, and the 127 Best Western Colleges.

Maintaining its spot among the top Impact Schools in the U.S., Southwestern is lauded in student surveys for providing ample community-service opportunities, supporting an active student government, promoting sustainability efforts, and inspiring on-campus student engagement. Based on data gathered from sources inside and outside the university, SU is designated as one of the 209 Best Value Colleges thanks to the school’s rigorous academics, the career and salary outcomes of alumni, and affordability—that is, a relatively lower sticker price when taking into account the institution’s generous financial-aid packages.

“Since 1992, our goal in publishing college rankings—and our ongoing mission at The Princeton Review—is to help students find, get accepted to, and thrive at the colleges best for them,” notes Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. “We recommend every one of the 386 colleges in the new edition of our book as a ‘best’ choice, and we salute them for their exceptional offerings, especially during this extremely challenging academic year.”

The annual college guide is one of the company’s most popular publications. The print and online versions both feature fairly detailed descriptions of each college, including admission and graduation rates as well as excerpts from surveys of SU students and alumni. The editors based this year’s rankings on feedback from 143,000 students about their campus experiences as well as data collected from administrators at each institution. Top-20 schools are then sorted within 62 specific categories, such as Best Science Lab Facilities and Most Accessible Professors.

The Princeton Review (www.PrincetonReview.com) is an educational company that offers online academic tutoring, counseling for college and graduate-school admissions, online and in-person test preparation, and other student resources. Headquartered in New York City, New York, it is not affiliated with Princeton University.