Clark University Students Say Small Classes, Close Ties with Professors Stand Out, as School Lands in National Rankings
WORCESTER, MA — At Clark University, students describe professors who know them by name and are almost always available outside class. That kind of feedback from current students is part of what helped place the university among the top colleges in the country in two widely used college guides published this year.
The Princeton Review included Clark in its “The Best 392 Colleges: 2027 Edition,” and Niche ranked the university the seventh-best small college in Massachusetts. Both rankings, according to the university, draw heavily on surveys filled out by current students rather than on institutional marketing.
On Clark’s Niche profile, one sophomore described the academic environment as combining “all the special qualities of a small liberal arts college while also doing cutting-edge research in many fields.” The same student noted that professors are “almost always open for office hours” and “ALWAYS know your name.” A student quoted on Clark’s Princeton Review profile pointed to “a strong sense of camaraderie, where everyone feels included and motivated to do their best,” while another credited the university’s student-run organizations with building community on campus.
The Princeton Review’s guide profiles roughly 14 percent of the nation’s approximately 2,800 four-year colleges, according to the publication, using institutional data, campus visits, student feedback and evaluations of academic programs. Its ranking lists are built from survey responses submitted by 172,000 students nationwide. Clark was also named a Princeton Review Best Value School and included among its Best in the Northeast list. The publication had previously ranked Clark No. 7 among its Top 50 Game Design programs and No. 16 among Best Schools for Making an Impact, a category that factors in student responses about community service, student government and campus engagement.
Niche, a separate platform students and families use to research colleges, placed Clark in the top 8 percent of the 935 schools it considers for its Best Small Colleges in America list and in the top 13 percent of its Top Private Universities in America ranking. Niche also ranked Clark No. 90 out of 1,482 schools on its list of colleges with the best professors.
University officials tied the rankings to what they described as a longer track record. “Clark has been featured in Colleges That Change Lives since the book was first published 30 years ago, and these latest recognitions reaffirm what generations of Clark students have experienced firsthand,” said Lukman Arsalan, Clark’s vice president of university enrollment, in a statement provided by the university.
For prospective students and families in the Worcester area weighing local college options, the rankings offer an outside data point built largely from the experiences of students already on campus. Clark, founded in 1887, offers 44 undergraduate majors and more than 30 advanced degree programs.
The university’s announcement does not say when either ranking was published or when Clark was notified of its placement.
🔎 W.U.W. Verification Box
- Project / Topic: Clark University’s inclusion in 2027 college rankings from the Princeton Review and Niche.
- Current Status: Both rankings have been published, and Clark has shared its inclusion in a university statement.
- Key Dates or Decisions: The source material reviewed by What’s Up Worcester does not specify a release date for either ranking.
- Estimated Cost: Not applicable. This story does not involve public or private spending.
- Timeline: Not applicable. The rankings reflect published 2027 editions rather than an ongoing project.
- Immediate Next Steps: None identified. The university’s statement does not describe further action connected to the rankings.
- Primary Sources: A statement from Clark University, including comments from Vice President of University Enrollment Lukman Arsalan and student comments published on Clark’s Princeton Review and Niche profiles.
- What We Do Not Yet Know: The university’s statement does not specify when the Princeton Review or Niche published the rankings, or the total number of schools Niche considered for its Best Colleges in America list.
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