University career services can range from professional advisors with experience in your field to peers with computers who recommend Indeed.com. As anyone can spend some time on Google without heading over to the career center, it’s clear which is beneficial, and which is a sorry excuse.
Every year The Princeton Review compiles a list of the top 20 schools with the Best Career Services, based on students’ answers to the question “How do you rate your school’s career/job placement services?” As career anxiety is fairly common among students, it’s fair to say that this question is likely to evoke strong feelings, and therefore probably honest answers.
Of the 42 schools that have been listed in the last six years, only six of them were listed every year, indicating that exemplary career services are rare. However, it does seem like they’re more common at private schools, as only nine public schools were listed at all.
Here are the schools with the best career services:
The ‘Best Career Services’ Rankings From 2015 to 2010
| 2015 Rank & School | 2015 Rank | 2014 Rank | 2013 Rank | 2012 Rank | 2011 Rank | 2010 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeastern University | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Pennsylvania State University – University Park | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Claremont McKenna College | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Bentley University | 4 | 3 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 12 |
| Clemson University | 5 | 11 | 5 | 9 | NR | 3 |
| University of Richmond | 6 | 13 | 4 | 10 | NR | NR |
| Wabash College | 7 | 6 | NR | NR | 11 | NR |
| Southwestern University | 8 | 7 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 9 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| University of Florida | 10 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Kansas State University | 11 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Southern Methodist University | 12 | 8 | 7 | 19 | NR | NR |
| Sweet Briar College | 13 | 10 | NR | NR | 8 | 8 |
| Villanova University | 14 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | 15 | NR | 13 | NR | 14 | NR |
| Lafayette College | 16 | 17 | 8 | 15 | 17 | NR |
| Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | 17 | 15 | NR | 20 | NR | 20 |
| Barnard College | 18 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Connecticut College | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR | 11 |
| Wake Forest University | 20 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Webb Institute | NR | 12 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Smith College | NR | 14 | NR | NR | 13 | 13 |
| Grove City College | NR | 16 | 12 | NR | NR | NR |
| Scripps College | NR | 18 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | NR | 19 | 9 | NR | NR | NR |
| University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh Campus | NR | 20 | 19 | NR | NR | NR |
| American University | NR | NR | 10 | 18 | 15 | 19 |
| Tulane University | NR | NR | 14 | NR | NR | NR |
| University of Southern California | NR | NR | 15 | NR | NR | NR |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | NR | NR | 17 | 11 | NR | NR |
| Virginia Tech | NR | NR | 18 | NR | NR | NR |
| University of Texas at Austin | NR | NR | 20 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | NR | NR | NR | 7 | NR | 18 |
| Spelman College | NR | NR | NR | 12 | NR | NR |
| Yale University | NR | NR | NR | 13 | 3 | 10 |
| Cornell University | NR | NR | NR | 14 | 16 | 15 |
| University of Missouri – Columbia | NR | NR | NR | 16 | 18 | NR |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | NR | NR | NR | 17 | 20 | NR |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | NR | NR | NR | NR | 9 | 9 |
| Middlebury College | NR | NR | NR | NR | 12 | 14 |
| Stonehill College | NR | NR | NR | NR | 19 | 17 |
| University of Notre Dame | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 16 |
Source: The Princeton Review
