COA ranks high for financial aid, studiousness, inclusive environment

College of the Atlantic's experiential, interdisciplinary, self-designed approach to academics draws committed students who contribute to the #5 ranking for Students Who Study the Most in Princeton Review's 390 Best Colleges guide.

COA is ranked in the guide at #1 Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation, #2 LBGTQ-Friendly, #5 Most Active Student Government, #5 Students Study the Most, #6 Great Financial Aid, and #9 Best Campus Food.

“Located in beautiful Bar Harbor, Maine, College of the Atlantic is a ‘really small school’ that offers students a strong ‘interdisciplinary approach to learning.’ The institution strives to shape its students into ‘more creative…and critical thinkers’ and really allows every undergrad to ‘construct [their] own unique path,’” the Princeton Review 2025 390 Best Colleges states. “COA undergrads applaud the many different academic opportunities that allow for ‘hands-on, in the field experience through coursework, work-study, internships, [and the] senior project.’”

Located in beautiful Bar Harbor, Maine between Frenchman Bay and Acadia National Park, “College of the Atlantic is a ‘really small school' that offers students a strong ‘interdisciplinary approach to learning,'” according to The Princeton Review.Strategically located between Maine’s Frenchman Bay and Acadia National Park, COA is embarking on its 53rd academic year with an enrollment hovering around its self-imposed cap of 350 undergraduate students. Each COA student designs their own course of study under the umbrella of human ecology, an interdisciplinary, experiential approach focused on the relationships between humans and their social, natural, and built environments.

“A College of the Atlantic education empowers students to know and believe in themselves, to gain deep insight into our interconnected challenges, and to launch successful, fulfilling careers,” said COA President Sylvia Torti, PhD. “We’re proud to cultivate an inclusive, respectful, and compassionate environment, all qualities that are much needed in today’s world.”

COA’s compassionate ethos spreads throughout campus and extends into the practices, policies, values, and behaviors of the college and its members, the review states.

COA students “come together to form a community that is ‘welcoming [and] kind’ and rooted in ‘compassion… for people, plants, animals, and the planet,’” the With the participatory All College Meeting shared governance structure, College of the Atlantic is ranked at #5 Most Active Student Government by The Princeton Review.guide states. As one student tells the Princeton Review, “‘I’ve never felt more able to freely explore… and find out who I want to be and how I want to express myself. As a queer person coming from a very conservative background, COA was like a breath of fresh air.’”

COA staff and faculty are noted by the review for their contributions to the close-knit community. “The professors at COA are ‘incredibly kind and educated,’” the profile states. With a 10:1 faculty/student ratio, professors and students get to know each other personally, helping students to feel supported and energized about what they are studying.

Staff at COA also care deeply about providing resources for students and making the college accessible and affordable, meeting 98% of student financial need. Just over one-third of COA students are eligible for the Pell Grant, a federal financial aid program for low-income undergraduates.

College of the Atlantic students, with COA W.H. Drury Professor of Ecology/Natural History Dr. John Anderson (in green) celebrate national Pride Day at the COA Alice Eno Field Research Station on Great Duck Island. The Princeton Review ranks COA as the #2 LBGTQ-Friendly school in its 390 Best Colleges guide.

College of the Atlantic is premised on the belief that education should go beyond understanding the world as it is to enabling students to actively shape the future. COA is a leader in experiential learning and environmental stewardship, and has been named the #1 Green College in the US by The Princeton Review since 2016. The intentionally small school of 350 students and 35 faculty members offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in human ecology — the study of how humans interact with our natural, social and technological environments. Each student develops their own course of study in human ecology, collaborating and innovating across multiple disciplines.

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