Sad days for the schools on this list. A study conducted by the American Educational Research Association earlier this year concluded that appearing on The Princeton Review’s “Least Happy Students” list can negatively impact a school’s application rate.
While the study says that schools on the “Happy Students” list see an average 2.9% increase in applications, schools determined to have the “Least Happy Students” may see a 5% decrease. The rankings are determined by the survey question: “Overall, how happy are you?”
The good news is schools don’t seem to stay on the list for long. Of the 43 schools that have made the list in the past six years, only five were listed every time: the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the United States Merchant Marine Academy, the United States Naval Academy, Clarkson University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Here are the schools with the least happy students:
Ranking The ‘Least Happy Students’ From 2015 to 2010
| 2015 Rank & School | 2015 Rank | 2014 Rank | 2013 Rank | 2012 Rank | 2011 Rank | 2010 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marywood University | 1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 9 | NR |
| United States Merchant Marine Academy | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| University of Hawaii – Manoa | 4 | 6 | 12 | NR | NR | NR |
| Manhattanville College | 5 | 11 | 13 | NR | NR | NR |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | 6 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 11 |
| Duquesne University | 7 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Suffolk University | 8 | NR | 20 | NR | NR | NR |
| United States Naval Academy | 9 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Clarkson University | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 13 |
| State University of New York – Stony Brook University | 11 | NR | NR | NR | 11 | 1 |
| Alfred University | 12 | NR | 19 | 12 | 18 | 19 |
| United States Military Academy | 13 | 5 | NR | NR | NR | 18 |
| Indiana University of Pennsylvania | 14 | 8 | 5 | 8 | NR | NR |
| United States Coast Guard Academy | 15 | NR | 15 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| University of New Orleans | 16 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| City University of New York – Baruch College | 17 | 3 | 10 | 10 | NR | NR |
| University of South Dakota | 18 | NR | NR | 18 | NR | NR |
| Catholic University of America | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Montana Tech of the University of Montana | 20 | 10 | 1 | 5 | NR | NR |
| McGill University | NR | 11 | 13 | NR | NR | NR |
| The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art | NR | 13 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| City University of New York – Queens College | NR | 14 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| University of Maine | NR | 15 | 9 | 17 | NR | NR |
| St. John’s University (NY) | NR | 17 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Rider University | NR | 18 | 17 | NR | 19 | NR |
| Wesleyan University (GA) | NR | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| University of North Dakota | NR | 20 | 11 | NR | NR | NR |
| Xavier University of Louisiana | NR | NR | 16 | NR | NR | NR |
| California Institute of Technology | NR | NR | 18 | NR | NR | NR |
| New York University | NR | NR | NR | 11 | 16 | 5 |
| Fisk University | NR | NR | NR | 13 | 1 | 4 |
| Tuskegee University | NR | NR | NR | 14 | 4 | 7 |
| United States Air Force Academy | NR | NR | NR | 15 | 13 | 16 |
| University of California – Riverside | NR | NR | NR | 16 | 6 | 8 |
| Whittier College | NR | NR | NR | 19 | 14 | 17 |
| University of New Orleans | NR | NR | NR | 20 | NR | NR |
| State University of New York at Albany | NR | NR | NR | NR | 8 | 10 |
| Eugene Lang College | NR | NR | NR | NR | 12 | 14 |
| University of Toronto | NR | NR | NR | NR | 17 | NR |
| University of Rhode Island | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 | NR |
| University of Massachusetts – Amherst | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 12 |
| Trinity College (CT) | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 |
Source: The Princeton Review
DON’T MISS:
Universities With The Happiest Students
Schools With The Best Classroom Experience
The Princeton Review: 2015 Rankings
