This week, colleges and college radio stations across the United States are touting appearances in the newly released Princeton Review Best 384 Colleges (2019 edition), which includes a variety of survey results, both serious and whimsical. Notable to college radio fans, the included “Best College Radio Station” list is derived from student responses to a question about the popularity of their college radio station. The 20 colleges on this year’s list are an eclectic mix and are home to both well-known public radio stations and under-the-radar student-run college radio stations.
For this Survey, Best = Popular
Since I enjoy digging beneath the surface of survey results, I’ve been dissecting the “Best College Radio Station” list for over a decade, making note of a few caveats:
1. It’s based on student surveys
2. Surveys were conducted at 384 colleges
3. Students are asked to judge the popularity, not the quality, of an unspecified campus radio station
4. Radio stations are not named in the survey or in the resulting rankings
I’ve seen in the past that a number of colleges appearing on the “Best College Radio Station” 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’s radio station is “popular” if they are on a campus with a high profile professional radio station and/or with several radio stations.
Digging into Methodology
As was the case for the 2018 edition, the 2019 college radio results are based on three years worth of survey data. Around 138,000 students were surveyed at 384 colleges, representing approximately 359 students per campus. Survey results for this edition are culled from responses given during the 2017-18, 2016-17, and 2015-16 academic years. The survey asks: “How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements at your school?” and among the list of statements is: “College Radio Station is popular.” Respondents are given the following options: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree or Disagree, Agree or Strongly Agree.
Princeton Review clarified with me over email that this question was phrased differently (“Which of the following are most popular at your school? Please rank the top 5 with 1 being most popular”) for one year of data collection, telling me, “During the 2015-16 academic year we used a variation on this question asking students to rank the most popular with choices: Intercollegiate sports, Fraternities/Sororities, College Newspaper, Intramural Sports, College Theater, College Radio Station and Other.” I outline this change in my piece about the 2017 edition.
How Similar is this Year’s List to Prior Lists?
For the 2019 Princeton Review list of “Best College Radio Stations,” 14 of the 20 schools were on the 2018 list. Of the six that were not on the 2018 list, two have appeared previously. The other four schools (Arizona State University, Temple University, CUNY-Hunter College, and Columbia University) have not shown up in the 12 years that I’ve been tracking. Coincidentally, I’ve visited college radio stations at 3 of the 4 new entrants to the list and have toured stations at 8 of the 20 schools on the overall list.
The complete list for the 2019 edition is listed below (for comparison, here are the lists from the 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 editions of Princeton Review).
2019 Princeton Review’s Best College Radio Stations
(aka Most Popular College Radio Stations)
Note: I’ve added station names and call signs as the Princeton Review only lists school names. Schools in bold were not on the list last year.
1. Manhattanville College (WMVL, Purchase, NY)
2. Emerson College (WERS 88.9FM and WECB, Boston, MA)
Learn more on my WECB tour, which was Station Field Trip #1
3. St. Bonaventure University (WSBU-88.3 FM, St. Bonaventure, NY)
4. Arizona State University (KASC 1330 AM, Tempe, AZ)
5. Syracuse University (WAER 88.3 FM, WERW, WJPZ 89.1 FM, Syracuse, NY)
6. Ithaca College (WICB 91.7 FM and VIC Radio, Ithaca, New York)
7. Hofstra University (WRHU 88.7 FM, Hempstead, New York)
8. Drew University (WMNJ The Forest, Madison, NJ)
9. Temple University (WRTI 90.1 FM and WHIP Radio, Philadelphia, PA)
Learn more on my WHIP Radio tour, which was Station Field Trip #134
10. City University of New York-Hunter College (WHCS Radio, New York, NY)
Learn more on my WHCS tour, which was Station Field Trip #99
11. Reed College (KRRC, Portland, OR)
Learn more on my KRRC tour, which was Station Field Trip #44
12. Carleton College (KRLX 88.1 FM, Northfield, MN)
Learn more on my KRLX tour, which was Station Field Trip #92
13. Fordham University (WFUV 90.7 FM, Bronx, NY)
Learn more on my WFUV tour, which was Station Field Trip #139
14. Providence College (WDOM 91.3 FM, Providence, RI) – last appeared on 2012 list
15. Truman State University (KTRM 88.7 FM, Kirksville, MO) – last appeared on 2017 list
16. St. Michael’s College (WWPV-LP 92.5 FM, Colchester, VT)
17. Chapman University (ChapmanRadio.com, Orange, CA)
18. Columbia University (WKCR 89.9 FM, New York, NY)
Learn more on my WKCR tour, which was Station Field Trip #141 and was also featured on Podcast #136
19. Franklin & Marshall College (WFNM 89.1 FM, Lancaster, PA)
20. Georgia Institute of Technology (WREK 91.1 FM, Atlanta, GA)
Learn more on my WREK tour, which was Station Field Trip #40
Learn More about College Radio
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