Princeton Review ranks best colleges for weed and LGBT friendliness

Princeton Review has released its annual school rankings—in which students ranked their universities for LGBT-friendliness and likelihood to take part in “Reefer Madness”—amongst categories like greatest financial aid or best library.

According to the 2015 edition of “The 379 Best Colleges," Stanford University is the most LGBT friendly campus in the nation. College of the Ozarks, a Christian university in Missouri, was voted as the least LGBT friendly.

Out of the 20 schools ranked least LGBT friendly for 2015, only 5 are new to the list from last year’s survey: Hampden-Sydney College, University of Tennessee, Gordon College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and University of Mississippi.

The 20 most LGBT-friendly colleges and universities in the U.S. according to the Princeton Review:

  1. Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.)
  2. Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio)
  3. Emerson College (Boston, Mass.)
  4. Smith College (Northampton, Mass.)
  5. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, N.C.)
  6. Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, Pa.)
  7. University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.)
  8. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Needham, Mass.)
  9. New College of Florida (Sarasota, Fla).
  10. Pitzer College (Claremont, Calif.)
  11. Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.)
  12. Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, N.Y.)
  13. Yale University (New Haven, Conn.)
  14. New York University (New York, N.Y.)
  15. Macalester College (St. Paul, Minn.)
  16. Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.)
  17. Prescott College (Prescott, Ariz.)
  18. Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa)
  19. Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
  20. Rice University (Houston, Texas)

The 20 most LGBT-unfriendly colleges and universities in the U.S. according to the Princeton Review:

  1. College of the Ozarks (Point Lookout, Mo.)
  2. Grove City College (Grove City, Pa.)
  3. Wheaton College (IL) (Wheaton, Ill.)
  4. Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah)
  5. Hampden-Sydney College (Hampden-Sydney, Va.)
  6. Wake Forest University (Winston Salem, N.C.)
  7. Pepperdine University (Malibu, Calif.)
  8. Wofford College (Spartanburg, S.C.)
  9. University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind.)
  10. Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
  11. Baylor University (Waco, Texas)
  12. Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.)
  13. Auburn University (Auburn, Ala.)
  14. University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.)
  15. Gordon College (Wenham, Mass.)
  16. Hillsdale College (Hillsdale, Mich.)
  17. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Indiana, Pa.)
  18. Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.)
  19. Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas)
  20. University of Mississippi (University, Miss.)

Unsurprisingly, most schools in the top 20 ranking for marijuana are located in states where recreational or medical uses of the drug have been legalized. However, Skidmore College of New York ranks first.

The top 20 ‘Reefer Madness’ colleges and universities in the U.S. according to the Princeton Review:

  1. Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
  2. Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
  3. The Evergreen State College (Olympia, Wash.)
  4. University of Colorado—Boulder (Boulder, Colo.)
  5. Ithaca College (Ithaca, N.Y.)
  6. University of Vermont (Burlington, Vt.)
  7. University of Oregon (Eugene, Ore.)
  8. Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, N.Y.)
  9. Pitzer College (Claremont, Calif.)
  10. University of California—Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
  11. University of California—Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
  12. State University of New York—Purchase College (Purchase, N.Y.)
  13. Colorado College (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
  14. Guilford College, (Greensboro, N.C.)
  15. Lewis and Clark College (Portland, Ore.)
  16. Emerson College (Boston, Mass.)
  17. Reed College (Portland, Ore.)
  18. Syracuse University (Syracuse, N.Y.)
  19. University of Wisconsin Madison (Madison, Wis.)
  20. Marlboro College (Marlboro, Vt.)

The Princeton Review is a private, independent education service that has published a ‘best of’ report annually since 1992. This year’s report surveyed 130,000 students at 379 different colleges.

“Our purpose is not to crown one college 'best' overall or to rank these distinctive schools 1 to 379 on any single topic,” the Princeton Review said in a press release. “We present our 62 ranking lists to give applicants the broader base of campus feedback to choose the college that's best for them.”

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @LaurenACooley