{"id":50440,"date":"2023-05-30T19:37:16","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T02:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiosurvivor.com\/?p=50440"},"modified":"2023-05-30T19:37:17","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T02:37:17","slug":"princeton-reviews-best-college-radio-stations-list-for-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.radiosurvivor.com\/2023\/05\/princeton-reviews-best-college-radio-stations-list-for-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Princeton Review’s “Best College Radio Stations” List for 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s time for another (extremely belated) best college radio station list! Back in August, 2022, Princeton Review published its latest college guide<\/a> (The Best 388 Colleges, 2023 edition), which includes a ranking of schools with the “Best College Radio Stations.” This marks the return of this annual list, which is based on student surveys about the popularity of their home school’s radio station. The last time this list was included in the guide was two years prior, in the 2021 edition. Last year, due to COVID, that list was replaced with a list of 28 unranked “Great Radio Stations” (read about that here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been scrutinizing every last detail of these “best” lists since 2008, and it’s interesting to see that once again, Princeton Review is mixing things up with a revamped list of 25 schools (vs. 20 in the past).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2023 list of the 25 colleges with the \u201cbest radio stations\u201d has 13 out of 20 of the schools from the 2021 list. The biggest surprise to me is that list stalwart, St. Bonaventure, is not on this year’s list. The school has been a staple of the list in the time I’ve been tracking (since 2008), and has was often in the top 5, including at #1. But its departure also made room for a bunch of schools that have not been list regulars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, the list is a mix, including large universities with multiple radio stations as well as small liberal arts colleges with online-only stations. The biggest school on the list is Arizona State (around 65,000 students) and the tiniest is Bennington College (around 770 students). I am also pleased to have visited college radio stations at 6 out of the 25 schools on the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the longer list allows for more of a geographic mix, the East Coast still dominates. The Northeast continues to take up half the list, with 13 schools from this region (5 from New York, 2 from New Jersey, 2 from Boston, and 1 each from Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, and Pennsylvania). On the west coast, only 3 schools are represented (2 from Washington, 1 from Oregon and 1 from California). From the Midwest, the 4 schools hail from Minnesota (2!), Michigan, and Ohio. Three schools from the South include one each from Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. And the sole college from the Southwest is from Arizona. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best = Popular<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a reminder, although the Princeton Review describes its college radio results as \u201cBest College Radio Station,\u201d the title doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. Here\u2019s the skinny:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Results are based on student surveys<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Surveys were conducted at 388 colleges<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Students are asked to judge the popularity, not the quality, of an unspecified campus radio station at their own college<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Radio stations are not named in the survey or in the resulting rankings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Only schools surveyed can make it into the rankings, so college radio stations at schools that are not surveyed by Princeton Review won\u2019t appear on the list<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of colleges appearing on the \u201cBest College Radio Station\u201d list have multiple radio stations, including student-run stations, large public radio stations, and everything in between. It makes sense that students would indicate that their school\u2019s radio station is \u201cpopular\u201d if they are on a campus with a high profile professional radio station and\/or with several radio stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digging into Methodology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although I did not receive a response from Princeton Review about this edition’s methodology for the college radio question; more general information is available about this latest survey. According to Princeton Review, “We tallied the rankings lists in the current edition,\u00a0The Best 388 Colleges (published August 2022), based on the data from our surveys of 160,000 students at the 388 schools in the book.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The site says that the “Best College Radio Station” list is compiled “based on students’ answers to the survey question, ‘How popular is the college radio station?,” but in recent years, the question was phrased a little differently. For the 2021 edition’s list, the survey asked, “How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements at your school?\u201d <\/em>Among the list of statements was: \u201cCollege Radio Station is popular.\u201d <\/em>Respondents were given the following options: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree or Disagree, Agree or Strongly Agree.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Similar is this Year\u2019s List to Prior Lists?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the 2023 Princeton Review list of \u201cBest College Radio Stations,\u201d 13 of the 25 schools were on the 2021 list (which was only 20 schools). Of the twelve that were not on the 2021 list, Northeastern University, Pace University, Bennington College, Macalester College, Roanoke College, Bowdoin College, Princeton University (ironically!), Dickinson College, Hillsdale College, and Hamilton College all appear for this first time since I’ve been tracking (since 2008). It’s great to see these 10 schools getting some added attention for their radio stations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complete list for the 2023 edition is listed below. For comparison, here are the lists from the 2022<\/a> (different format- had “Great College Radio Station” list), 2021<\/a>, 2020<\/a>, 2019<\/a>, 2018<\/a>, 2017<\/a>, 2016<\/a>, 2015<\/a>, 2014<\/a>, 2013<\/a>, 2012<\/a>, 2011,<\/a> 2010<\/a>, 2009<\/a> and 2008<\/a> editions of Princeton Review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 Princeton Review\u2019s Best College Radio Stations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

(aka Most Popular College Radio Stations)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Note: I\u2019ve added station names and call signs as the Princeton Review only lists school names. Schools in bold were not on the previous “best” list for the 2021 edition<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Arizona State University (KASC 1330 AM<\/a>, Tempe, AZ)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. University of South Florida (WUSF 89.7 FM<\/a> and Bulls Radio online\/89.7 HD3\/on campus 1620AM<\/a>, Tampa, FL)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Ithaca College (WICB 91.7 FM<\/a> and VIC Radio<\/a>, Ithaca, New York)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Emerson College (WERS 88.9FM<\/a> and WECB<\/a>, Boston, MA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n