Pitt-Bradford was named a best regional college for the 20th year in a row

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has been named to The Princeton Review’s Best Regional Colleges for the 20th consecutive year. The Pittsburgh campus also made the 2024 list.

“We are happy to be recognized for the 20th year, which is a testament to our dedicated faculty and staff who focus on helping our students succeed,” said Rick Esch, president of Pitt-Bradford.

“We are particularly pleased with our high score in financial aid because we were founded to give students a chance to go to college who otherwise might not have had the opportunity. We continue that tradition today, and generous financial aid is one of the ways we do it.”

The Best Regional Colleges named 630 colleges across seven regions that it considers academically outstanding. It was the first year Pitt-Bradford had been included in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Princeton Review determined its ratings based on a survey of 165,000 students who answered 85 questions about their school’s academics, administration and campus community.

According to student surveys, Pitt-Bradford has “the small town feel with the big city name” and “a friendly environment that encourages students to stay.”

One student reported that, “Professors recognize when students try and reward them appropriately. No good deed goes unnoticed.” Other students wrote that the teaching methods are “interactive” and that students feel that they are “a part of the learning rather just a fly on the wall.”

When addressing campus life, students said Pitt-Bradford is a warm, friendly place where it’s easy to make friends and get to know each other.

“At Pitt-Bradford, you are a person with a name, a face, and people are going to know you; you’re not just a number,” one student said. Another student noted, “All students here need to do is say ‘hi’ to another student, and you can be instant friends.”

The Princeton Review also rated the colleges and universities in seven categories, from academics to green initiatives, on a scale from 60 to 99. The ratings are tallied primarily from institutional data, though some ratings also factor in student survey data. Pitt-Bradford’s top marks were in financial aid, admissions selectivity and fire safety.

Pitt-Bradford received a score of 89 in financial aid, which measures how much financial aid is awarded and how satisfied students are with that aid. The average first-year total need-based aid is $14,999.

Pitt-Bradford received a score of 86 in admissions selectivity, which rates how competitive admissions are and is determined by many factors, including high school GPA for entering first-year students. Pitt-Bradford’s acceptance rate is 94%. Of its incoming first-year students, 74% had a high school GPA of at least 3.0, and a 34% had a GPA greater than 3.75.Pitt-Bradford received a score of 94 in fire safety, which measures how well prepared a school is to prevent and respond to campus fires.

— Kimberly Weinberg