California dominates in new national college ranking — and future students will want to take notes

California is once again proving it’s one of the country’s top destinations for higher education after four Golden State schools landed in a new national ranking highlighting the best classroom experiences in America.

The Princeton Review’s Best Classroom Experience placed four California colleges in its top 20, with two of them cracking the top 10.

Leading the way was Thomas Aquinas College, which ranked No. 5 nationally to become the highest-rated California school on the list.

The private Catholic liberal arts college in Santa Paula was the only Golden State campus to break into the top five.

Not far behind was Pomona College, which ranked No. 9. This highly selective liberal arts college in Claremont is known as one of the nation’s top undergraduate schools and was among only nine nationwide to reach the top 10.

Two more Southern California schools also made the cut: Claremont McKenna College finished at No. 14, while neighboring Harvey Mudd College came in at No. 16.

The Claremont Colleges made up three of the four California schools recognized in the ranking.

California’s performance gave the state four of the nation’s top 20 colleges for classroom experience, more than any other state represented on the list, underscoring the state’s continued strength in undergraduate education.

Nationally, Washington and Lee University claimed the No. 1 spot, followed by Wellesley College, Reed College and Denison University.

Rounding out the top 20 were St. Olaf College, Hillsdale College, Wabash College, Grinnell College, Hampden-Sydney College, the United States Military Academy at West Point, Davidson College, the University of Richmond, Bowdoin College, the College of the Holy Cross, Grove City College and the College of the Ozarks.

The Princeton Review’s annual rankings are based on student survey responses evaluating factors such as the quality of teaching, classroom engagement and the overall academic experience, offering prospective students a snapshot of campuses where learning takes center stage.

Pay attention, future scholars.

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