Many Louisiana students, parents, faculty members, and administrators took pride last month as the nationally-renowned Princeton Review released its rankings to include New Orleans’ Loyola University as the seventh most inclusive university in the United States, as reported in a MyNewOrleans.com article.
The Princeton Review conducted a survey that measured how frequently students at schools across the nation engage with one another across lines of socioeconomic class and race. Upon hearing this news, Loyola University attributes the ranking to their diverse national student body and the community created across their campus. The news also couldn’t have come at a better time as the same week of the ranking, Loyola welcomed to campus for its Fall 2020 semester, an undergraduate student body that consisted of 50 percent students of color.
In the Princeton Review’s “2021 Guide to Best 386 Colleges,” released on August 18, 2020, Loyola New Orleans was honored with five of the nation’s “Top 20” rankings. It should be noted that this guide only ranks approximately 13 percent of America’s 3,000 four-year colleges, highlighting outstanding schools across the country noted for their outstanding student programs, quality of life, and academic excellence.
Among these rankings was Loyola’s 97-year-old student-run newspaper, The Maroon, which achieved the ranking of being the 9th best student newspaper in the country, earning the title of “Loyola’s pride and joy.” In addition to this pretentious ranking by the Princeton Review, over the past few years, The Maroon has accumulated hundred of awards, including the best college media outlet in the country, according to the College Media Association, and a national Peacemaker Award from the Associated College Press, which is also known as the “Pulitzer Prize of College Journalism.” In fact, in just June alone, The Maroon took away 23 awards from the Louisiana Press Association, including 12 top prizes in the college newspaper category, being named the College Newspaper of the Year.
Apart from its journalism media accolades, Loyola’s Student Government Association was ranked 20th in the nation, in the brand new category, being praised for its strong involvement in matters of great importance that affect the campus community, ranging from racial equality issues to recycling, sustainability, and environmental measures. Loyola’s Student Government Association, or the SGA, also plays a big part in keeping campus morale high by hosting fun events, like its signature event, “Sneaux,” which blankets the Marquette Lawn each and every year.
As a whole the city of New Orleans continued to rank highly on the Princeton Review’s list, as it is known as the tenth best college town, with Loyola proudly holding the eighth highest ranking in the country in terms of “best town/gown relations within its city.” This highly-coveted category showcases the high quality of Loyola’s interactions within its local community.
As Loyola New Orleans is a part of Jesuit tradition, it should be remembered that a tenet, fundamental principle of Jesuit education is cura personalis, or the education of the whole person, mind, body, and soul; all of which was taken into account by Loyola’s own student body in the Princeton Review’s survey, as Loyola New Orleans earned a remarkably strong 92 out of 100 “quality of life” campus ranking.
When asked to comment on the school’s garnered accolades, Loyola University New Orleans President Tania Tetlowtold myneworleans.com, “our students come from every possible background, drawn here by common Jesuit values and shared passions. They learn as much from each other’s diverse experiences and perspectives as they do in the classroom. In an increasingly divided world, they provide a beacon of hope for the future.”
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