{"id":50980,"date":"2023-08-25T19:19:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T02:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiosurvivor.com\/?p=50980"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:06:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T00:06:10","slug":"best-college-radio-stations-according-to-2024-princeton-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.radiosurvivor.com\/2023\/08\/best-college-radio-stations-according-to-2024-princeton-review\/","title":{"rendered":"“Best College Radio Stations” According to 2024 Princeton Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Princeton Review just released its latest college guide, The Best 389 Colleges<\/a> (paid affiliates link) 2024 edition, so it’s time once again to take a look at its rankings for “Best College Radio Station<\/a>.” Post-COVID, we are now back to regular annual editions of this list, which is based on student surveys about the popularity of their home school\u2019s radio station. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like last year, this list is now made up of 25 schools (compared with 20 in the years before COVID). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2024 list of the 25 colleges with the \u201cbest radio stations\u201d has 19 out of 25 of the schools from the 2023 list. The big surprise this time around, is that Syracuse University dropped from the list. That school, which has several radio stations, has been featured on Princeton Review lists every year since the 2014 edition.<\/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 785 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

The East Coast still dominates. Huge states like California and Texas are not represented at all. The Northeast takes up more of the list than last year, with 16 schools from this region (6 from New York, 3 from New Jersey, 3 from Massachusetts, and 1 each from Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania). On the west coast, only 3 schools are represented (2 from Washington and 1 from Oregon). From the Midwest, the 3 schools hail from Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio. Two schools from the South include one each from 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 389 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

According to Princeton Review, \u201cWe tallied the rankings lists in the current edition of The Best 389 Colleges<\/em> (published August 2023), based on the data from our surveys of 165,000 students at the 389 schools in the book.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The site says that the \u201cBest College Radio Station\u201d list is compiled \u201cbased on students\u2019 answers to the survey question, \u2018How popular is the college radio station?,\u201d but in recent years, the question was phrased a little differently. For the 2021 edition\u2019s list, the survey asked, \u201cHow 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 2024 Princeton Review list of \u201cBest College Radio Stations,\u201d 19 of the 25 schools were on the 2023 list. Mount Holyoke College<\/strong> and Sarah Lawrence College<\/strong> are the brand new entrants. Neither has appeared during the 15+ years that I’ve been tracking Princeton Review lists. The other four schools that did not appear last year include Skidmore College (last appeared on 2022 list), Rider University (last appeared on 2016 list), Wellesley College (last appeared on 2012 list), and Fordham University (last appeared on 2022 list). I love seeing that women’s colleges (Mount Holyoke and Wellesley and former women’s colleges (Skidmore and Sarah Lawrence) are taking up a bigger slice of the list this year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those that fell off the list this year were Northeastern University, Pace University, Chapman University, University of the South, Syracuse University and Carleton College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complete list for the 2024 edition is listed below. For comparison, here are the lists from the 2023<\/a>, 2022<\/a> (different format- had \u201cGreat College Radio Station\u201d 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

2024 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 \u201cbest\u201d list for the 2023 edition<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. 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

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