Princeton Review Names Western Illinois University “Best Midwestern College”
MACOMB/Moline, IL — Continuing a 17 year trend, Western Illinois University’s combination of excellent academics, affordability, supportive faculty, and student services has again brought a “Best Midwestern College” designation for Western from The Princeton Review.
Western is one of 158 regional universities, and one of only three Illinois public institutions, named to the “Best in the Midwest” list.
The 158 colleges included in the “Best in the Midwest” list are located in 12 states: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Collectively, the 656 colleges named “regional best(s)” comprise 22 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges, according to The Princeton Review.
“I am pleased to once again be recognized as a Best Midwestern College. Our outstanding and supportive faculty and staff work hard to prepare our students to be successful after graduation. My goal of creating a welcoming environment for all students, combined with a solid academic experience and critical support services, ensures that our students have the resources in place to be successful. In spite of recent challenges facing higher education due to the pandemic and more, I’m pleased that we continue to live up to our values and mission,” said Interim President Martin Abraham.
The Princeton Review editors make the selections based on data the company collects from its survey of administrators at several hundred colleges in each region, as well as its staff visits to schools over the years and the perspectives of college counselors and advisers, whose opinions the company solicits. The selections also take into account what students at the schools report about their experiences via an in-depth survey. The Princeton Review asks students to rate their own schools on several issues, from the accessibility of their professors to the quality of the campus food and to answer questions about themselves, their fellow students and their campus lives.
