College of the Atlantic Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Chair in Earth Systems and Geosciences Dr. Sar...College of the Atlantic Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Chair in Earth Systems and Geosciences Dr. Sarah Hall with COA students on an excursion to nearby Eagle Lake in Acadia National Park. The park plays an essential role in COA's interdisciplinary curriculum.

The top 50 green colleges share high marks for regional foods, waste diversion, renewable energy, and sustainability-focused academics, according to the Princeton Review. Using the COA campus as a laboratory for exploring sustainability across these areas enables students to apply theoretical learning with experiential practice, said COA President Darron Collins ’92.

“That combination of intellectual understanding and learning-by-doing is a powerful tool that prepares students to become active, involved citizens, and helps them launch tremendous careers,” Collins said. “Our commitment to sustainability is at the very core of who we are as an institution, and we are honored to have our work on campus and our innovative academics recognized by The Princeton Review.”

COA students learn through experience about the relationship between humans and the environment i...COA students learn through experience about the relationship between humans and the environment in classes like Dr. Helen Hess's Invertebrate Zoology, where they study some of the creatures that call the nearby Atlantic Ocean home.

Established in 1969, COA was the first college in the U.S. specifically founded to focus on the relationship between humans and the environment. In 2007, the school became the first carbon-neutral college in the U.S. It has since committed to becoming fossil fuel–free by 2030.

The Princeton Review’s 11th annual Guide to Green Colleges, a free resource that the education service company has published since 2010 for college applicants seeking schools with exemplary commitments to the environment and sustainability, was released Oct. 20.

“We are especially pleased to recommend these colleges during Campus Sustainability Month, the international celebration of sustainability in higher education,” said Rob Franek, Editor in Chief of The Princeton Review. “With robust offerings in environmental studies and initiatives that range from solar-powered residence halls to tray-less dining halls, these schools demonstrate their commitment to sustainability in a range of innovative ways. We recommend them highly to all students seeking to learn and live at a green college.”

Accessible for free at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide, The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges, 2021 Edition profiles 416 colleges the company chose out of the 695 schools it surveyed for this edition.

The College of the Atlantic community enjoys regional foods along with meat and produce from COAThe College of the Atlantic community enjoys regional foods along with meat and produce from COA's own farms in the college's tray-less, plastic-free Take-a-Break dining hall, where all waste is composted.

Franek noted that The Princeton Review has seen a high level of interest among college applicants and their parents in colleges with green practices, programs, and offerings. Sixty-six percent of the 12,845 respondents (college-bound teens and parents) to The Princeton Review’s 2020 College Hopes & Worries Survey said that having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would affect their (or their child’s) decision to apply to or attend a school. A report on the survey findings is downloadable here.

The top 15 schools on The Princeton Review’s ranking list of Top 50 Green Colleges for 2021 are:

  1. College of the Atlantic (ME)
  2. Oberlin College (OH)
  3. Middlebury College (VT)
  4. State University of New York—College of Environmental Science and Forestry
  5. Pitzer College (CA)
  6. Dickinson College (PA)
  7. Chatham University (PA)
  8. Cornell University (NY)
  9. Whitman College (WA)
  10. Colorado State University
  11. University of California—Santa Cruz
  12. Stanford University (CA)
  13. University of California—Santa Barbara
  14. Colby College (ME)
  15. Portland State University (OR)

The list of top 50 colleges is viewable here. As a group, the top 50 schools have compelling statistics with respect to the levels of their commitment to sustainability. Overall, 21% of their total food purchases are from local sources and/or organic; 49% of their waste is diverted from incinerators or solid-waste landfills; 98% offer a sustainability-focused undergraduate major or degree; and 100% have a sustainability officer.

Ornithologist Scott Swann and a group of early morning birding students look for wildlife off of ...Ornithologist Scott Swann and a group of early morning birding students look for wildlife off of Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park.

The school profiles in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges present information on each school’s use of renewable energy, its recycling and conservation programs, the availability of environmental studies in academic offerings, and career guidance for green jobs. The profiles also include information on the schools’ admission requirements, cost, and financial aid.

How schools were chosen for the guide

The Princeton Review chose the 416 colleges based on its survey of administrators at 695 colleges in 2019–20 concerning their institutions’ sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs. Survey topics ranged from academic offerings and campus initiatives to career preparation for “green” jobs.

Members of the COA Community Energy Center help maintain the college's solar arrays, like thi...Members of the COA Community Energy Center help maintain the college's solar arrays, like this one on COA Peggy Rockefeller Farms, while also doing outreach work in the local community.

Of the 416 schools in the 2021 edition, 393 are in the U.S., 22 are in Canada, and one is in Greece. The 416 schools are listed alphabetically in the guide and not ranked overall from 1 to 416. Colleges that earned a Green Rating of 99 made it onto The Princeton Review’s earlier (August 2020) reported Green Honor Roll, as well as this guide. The Green Rating scores appear in the profiles of the schools in the guide on The Princeton Review website and in profiles of the schools in the 2021 editions of the Princeton Review books, The Best 386 Colleges (published August 2020) and The Complete Book of Colleges (published July 2020).

How the guide’s Top 50 Green Colleges ranking list was tallied

The Princeton Review tallied the top 50 ranking list based on data from its surveys of administrators at the colleges for its Green Rating scores as well as its surveys of students attending the colleges. Ten data points from the administrator survey were factored into the tally for the ranking list and three from the student survey. Data from the student survey included student assessments of the influence of sustainability issues on their academic and campus experiences; administrator and student support for environmental awareness and conservation efforts; and the visibility and impact of student environmental groups on the campus.