Princeton Reefer Madness: SLU’s Hidden Ranking
A recent Instagram post from St. Lawrence University featured the accolades received in this year’s Princeton Review rankings. While various achievements were celebrated, there was a notable omission: the “Reefer Madness” ranking, where SLU secured the 21st spot. This decision reflects the university’s deliberate choice in featuring specific rankings, underscoring their commitment to showcasing accomplishments that align most closely with their mission and values.
This exclusion demonstrates SLU administrators’ selectivity in which rankings to include in the Instagram post. Owen Kotula ’26 said that he was “Kind of bummed,” by this omission. “Top 21 is pretty good I’d say, we got to have pride in being a top university,” when asked how he felt about Reefer Madness being left out.
While the school was ranked for having the 24th friendliest students some don’t believe this gives a full picture of student life. Alumnus Nicholas Mitch ’23 said “Administration should not demonize what its students choose to do, as I feel it hurts our school’s reputation for campus life.” He also felt that the ranking was appropriate and that “It seem like an attempt to politicize the issue among students and alumni.” There is nothing illegal about the usage on campus, unless students are underage, as marijuana is legal in New York.
Not only have students questioned SLU administration for their selectiveness of publicizing SLU’s Princeton Review ranking but also the running of the school. The focal point of SLU’s Instagram post was the school’s ranking of 16th on the best-run colleges list. When told this Griffin Roeder ’26 said “There’s no way there is only 15 other schools that are better run than us.” Recently students have been frustrated with the SLU devices Wi-Fi being down for over a week. One Yik Yak user just wanted an email acknowledging the issue from SLU and saying it was being fixed.
However, other rankings have been well received by students. SLU was ranked 10th in Best Schools for Internships among private universities. Zach Jaworski ’25 did a SLU PIC internship at the Chamber of Commerce in Canton. When asked about his experience he said “it was great immersing myself in the community.” Jaworski also feels “St. Lawrence offers plenty of financial support so people can do internships in places they couldn’t afford without institutional funding.” This allows students to purse internships that directly match their interests even if the internship is unpaid.
The good parts of SLU do not end after you graduate, as SLU was ranked fourth Best Alumni Network. This ranking is also only among private universities, something SLU does not include in a lot of their promotional material. Matt Taylor ’25 went to Flagstaff, Ariz. this summer and met alumni who invited him to his house for dinner. He said that meeting SLU alumni across the country “was really cool.” The Princeton Review’s rating shows that the pride SLU has in its alumni network and its ability to carry the SLU experience beyond college is deserved.