The ranking was based on factors including financial aid and academics. It was compiled using official university data and results from student surveys.

Director of Student Financial Services, William Witbrodt, says that the ranking is a reflection on how students feel about the University.

“For one thing I know that the financial aid office is as responsive as it can be to students. We provide excellent service and we would never let a student leave the University because of finances. When the Princeton Review folks interviewed the students on our campus I know that played a large part in the ranking,” Witbrodt said.

University officials say that the school’s academic programs also make it a best value for students.

“We offer a wide variety of academic programs here, so for students who choose to come here we offer a lot of flexibility and I think that certainly adds value. We are an institution where we are able to offer a lot of variety and diversity but we are also a place where you can get into classes that are small enough to interact with a faculty member in that specific discipline,” Assistant Vice Chancellor Rob Wild said.

Some students say that the University’s price tag and academics combine to make it a good value.

“I think for the same amount of money, you get a lot more here. When I visited other colleges of the same caliber, I thought that Wash. U. provided a lot better campuses, dorms, and food [...] As a pre-med [student], when I want to do research I could just ask a professor or he will point me at the right direction. I don’t know about other [majors], but it’s definitely a lot better for pre-meds to be here,” junior Phil Chen said.

Other students say that the school’s value comes in more abstract form.

“I think Wash. U. does it’s best to make it worth it. I think the intellectual capital is priceless. So in that sense I think it’s worth it,” sophomore Bailey Breems said.

Wild agrees with this sentiment.

“We always have felt that Washington University is a great investment for anyone who chooses to attend here as a student. The value has to do with the students feeling like they have gotten a good return on their investment here,” he said.

The Princeton Review awarded the University with a “best value distinction,” a title given to 50 private and 50 public universities based on 30 components categorized within three principal classifications: academics, cost of attendance, and financial aid factors.

Because of the ways in which best value schools are decided, the significance of Washington University’s designation is unclear.

When considering the price tag put on education, the Princeton Review considers the aggregate cost of tuition, room and board, and other miscellaneous fees. For a school to qualify for the “best value” tag, it must charge a relatively low sticker price or make attending college more affordable via scholarships, grants, loans and work-study options. The University falls into the latter category.

Julie Shimabukuro, director of undergraduate admissions, acknowledged that while the Princeton Review’s recognition is an honor, the admissions office is unsure of how it will affect future enrollment at the University.

“What influences admissions the most is when our current students tell their friends, prospective students and our visitors about their experiences at Wash. U.,” Shimabukuro said.

According to the Princeton Review’s website, the nation’s best academic institutions are in the running for best value schools. The Princeton Review decides which schools will receive the distinction after reviewing data and student opinion surveys from 650 institutions.

To make the list, schools must attract high-quality students and have outstanding admissions credentials. Furthermore, students must rate their experiences positively.

Many students on campus view Washington University as a high-value institution.

“I agree [with the ranking]. I get financial aid from the student office [Student Financial Services], and I’m satisfied with the education,” junior Jun Yoon said.

Still, some students are hesitant about the meaning of the ranking,

“It’s hard to put a dollar value on education….If education is about getting high-paying jobs, then this is a top-value school,” senior Catherine Yeung said.

In addition to academics, Princeton Review assesses financial factors with equal consideration. At Washington University, because tuition rises steadily, this monetary issue is of particular importance.

Seniors Sarah Fern admitted that she valued the information from the Princeton Review when deciding on a college to attend. She used the rankings to get a cursory look at schools of interest but didn’t ultimately consider the rankings when making her enrollment decision.

“Rankings get people interested in the school, but it’s the environment that draws them in,” Fern said. “There were other elements besides what was written on paper that sealed the deal.”

Other schools that made the honor roll include Swarthmore College, Harvard College and Lake Forest College.

According to Princeton Review spokesperson Rebecca Lessem, college-bound high school students and their families are increasingly concerned with finding not only the perfect college but also an affordable one.

“Financial aid is a really hot topic this year, and with the economy, financial aid is a big part of students and parents’ decisions in where they go to school,” Lessem said.

Derek Lam, a senior receiving nearly full financial aid, attested to this point.

“Truman State University offered me a full ride, but Wash. U. gave me a good enough financial aid package so that I could actually afford to come,” Lam said.

Senior Kevin Chang saidhe feels the University’s ranking is consistent with the reality of financial aid here.

“[The rankings] definitely seem pretty reasonable,” Chang said. “Wash. U. has been generous.”

To achieve maximum accuracy, the Princeton Review uses a number of methods when constructing rankings. The company gathers institutional data from administrators, including the percentage of students determined to have a need for aid, the percentage of need met, and the percentage of students whose aid was fully met. The company also uses student surveys.

“We try to reach as many students possible,” Lessem said.

The University evaluates students’ financial situation each year.

“Families complete financial aid applications that include information about their income, their financial position and family demographics,” said Bill Witbrodt, the director of Student Financial Services. “Based on that information, [a financial aid] amount is determined.”

But circumstances can change from year to year, and the University‘s financial aid department responds to these changes.

“Sometimes, [the government has] cut my financial aid, but the school has been generous enough to match whatever cuts the state made. I also have outside scholarships…the school will reimburse you [if necessary],” Lam said.

Although students are generally pleased with their financial aid, international students have a different perspective.

“I feel like at not just Wash. U., but at a lot of colleges in the U.S., just knowing that you’re an international student puts a strain on your eligibility on your financial aid…It’s already really competitive for international students, so [we feel] like, ‘Oh, I can’t ask for financial aid, because then I might not get in,’” senior Yu-Ching Cheng said.

Washington University also fared well on other Princeton Review ranking lists, placing fourth in Quality of Life, ninth in School Runs Like Butter, 10th in Best Campus Food, and 10th in Dorms Like Palaces.

“We actively seek student input on all of our services and programs. We listen, and we make changes when they are reasonable and within our ability to do so,” Hoffner wrote in an e-mail to Student Life.

The University also placed in top rankings for several subcategories, including 10th in both “Best Campus Food” and “Dorms Like Palaces.”

Two newly arrived freshmen unpack and assemble their room on move-in day in August. Washington University ranked fourth in terms of quality of life, according to the 2010 version of an annual survey by The Princeton Review. The survey judges universities on numerous factors, like dorms, food and overall happiness. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The publication surveys more than 122,000 students each year to rank 20 schools in a variety of categories for its “Best 371 Colleges” book. The 2010 rankings came out in July.

The Quality of Life category judges schools based on the quality of their food, dorms, campus accessibility and attraction, safety, surrounding communities, administrative operation and students’ interactions, friendliness and overall happiness.

Rice University was ranked at No. 1 in Quality of Life, followed by Bowdoin College, Claremont McKenna College and Washington University. Other schools featured in the category include Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Middlebury College, Smith College, Barnard College, St. Michael’s College and Clemson University.

Justin Carroll, associate vice chancellor for students and dean of students, also noted the role of students’ feedback in the University’s high quality of life ranking.

“[Continuing to seek input of our students and other University colleagues] is the way things are done here—it is part of our campus culture,” Carroll said.

A Campus Services Committee within Student Union and headed by junior Greg Schweizer focuses on improving non-academic aspects of the University, such as dining, transport, security, residential life and sustainability. An administrator sits in on the committee’s weekly meetings to ensure that its members are aware of new developments within the University. The process also allows the committee to make suggestions about campus life to the administration.

Last week, the committee met with Hoffner and Nadeem Siddiqui, resident district manager for Bon Appétit. According to the SU blog, the committee suggested that certain food items from last year’s menus be returned as meal options, the possibility of a crepe night in Ursa’s Café and the use of biodegradable plastic water cups.

Dining Services is already incorporating some of these suggestions into practice, according to Hoffner.

The administration takes recommendations from students in other forms as well, such as through comment cards and advisory committees for dining services and parking and transportation.

“The administration is responsive because they care about undergrads,” Schweizer said.

Schweizer said he believes the University is worthy of its ranking.

“I think we have a really great quality of life,” he said. “I think our dining is superb. I think our housing for the most part is far above other institutions.”

For Hoffner, having the 10th best campus food is well deserved, too.

“We offer more locations and more operating hours than many of our peer institutions,” Hoffner wrote. “Overall, I think the quality of our food is outstanding.”

Hoffner indicated that once the issues with dining on the South 40 are fixed next year, the food on campus will be even better.

“We know that we are limited on dining space and options this year, but we are confident that next year we will have the best university dining facilities in the country,” he wrote.

Besides the food services, the University benefits from other attributes that Hoffner believes may have helped the institution in its rankings. The Washington University Police Department (WUPD), for one, is a great asset to the University, according to Hoffner.

“WUSTL’s Police Department is headed by one of the most widely respected University Police Chiefs in the country, Don Strom,” he wrote.

Hoffner also complimented WUPD’s off-campus involvement, coordination with the city police and its positive interactions with the student body.

Hoffner said, overall, that the people who work at the University make all the difference.

“We have an incredibly dedicated staff in Student Affairs, Campus Life, Residential Life, Student Financial Services, Student Health & Wellness and many other departments,” Hoffner wrote. “They truly care about students, and they are totally committed to making WUSTL among the very best in the country.”

Carroll pointed out, however, that the reasons behind the administration’s decisions are not merely for the sake of gaining high rankings.

“It is always nice, of course, to be considered by others who provide input such rankings. But the rankings don’t motivate our decisions—our students do,” Carroll said.

While it is impossible to rank someone’s quality of life, it is possible to approximate. We know that someone who does not need to worry about where his next meal is coming from has a better life than someone who does need to worry. Once people have shelter, food, water and safety, we must look at harder to quantify areas. This is where the approximating comes in.

With physical needs met, relationships, esteem, love and self-actualization must be considered. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because Abraham Maslow thought this system up in the 1950s. He outlined a hierarchy of needs with the physical—food, drink, sleep—at the bottom and, at the peak, self-actualization. Self-actualization is doing what you were born to do. For example, writers write, teachers teach and directors direct. When all of these needs have been met, your quality of life is the best it can be.

How do you measure someone’s progress to self-actualization? Doing so requires knowing what the person was born to do and how close they are to achieving it. We cannot measure this for ourselves, let alone for those around us. However, we can estimate the quality of someone’s friendships, love life and esteem through questionnaires. Using these, we can extrapolate how near someone is to self-actualization, but extrapolation is inherently inaccurate. Effectively, we must take that quality-of-life ranking with a large grain of salt.

Self-actualization is the something missing when nothing else is missing. The need for self-actualization makes otherwise-comfortable people restless. College is the time for this restlessness, as all of our other needs are best served by the academic environment. All of our physical needs are provided for, and the needs of belonging, love, affection and esteem can be easily satiated. You can knock out at least two of the four by simply joining a fraternity or sorority. Freshmen Resident Advisors’ jobs include making sure these needs are being met.

At no other time in our life will we live surrounded by people our own age, all working towards similar goals. Now is the time when all of our friends are no further than a walk. Taking advantage of all of these privileges to work on our last need makes sense.

Finding out what we were born to do and doing it is a tall order, but it only gets harder when we have other commitments—jobs, families. When we finish college, our good friends may be too far away or too busy to have those conversations that make us reevaluate how we see the world. College is the time for restlessness—at the very least, we can observe this from most people changing their major at least once (especially if they come in as a BME at Wash. U.).

In changing a major, we gain the experience of having tried something. It seems that the best way to find out what we were born to do is to do it. So go for it. Try new things, but more importantly, meet new people. Wash. U. prides itself on its diversity of race, but diversity of thought is what is most needed.

We are truly privileged to be at Wash. U. Resources to improve our quality of life surround us. St. Louis is a Metro ride away. The Loop is a short walk or shorter bike ride. Olin library is in the center of campus. Your new friends are down the hall. Be restless and go for a trip.