“This 160-year old community of learning, with its 1,350 students, will excite you, stretch you, expand your world, and make you believe in yourself. This college does marvelous things to multiply talents and to develop character… Austin—and colleges like it—has a special magic the prestige ones don’t. You will find the work is harder than at the Ivies, and so is the grading. More is expected of you; you can’t hire somebody to take notes for you. Austin will do more to give you a successful and satisfactory life.
…At Austin (College) you will have great teachers; they will want to stretch you, and they will want to be your friends. …You will be actively involved in your own education, which is the only way, no ifs, ands or buts.
…What kind of person would be happy here? Any student planning to go to a mainstream college would find happiness here, whether from the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, or far West. This was as friendly, open, and accepting a community as I’ve seen anywhere, and far more so than most.
…For many years I had been aware that Austin College was a first-rate school, but until I spent a day there, I hadn’t been able to know how very special a community it was. It is one of those that is doing the essential work of producing the enlightened, responsible, creative people with moral compasses who make democracy work. We need many more colleges like it.”
— Colleges That Change Lives, by Loren Pope
“…There’s no mix-up as to why Austin College has become, in the minds of many, the best little liberal arts college in Texas.
… In a state where bigger has traditionally meant better, Austin stands apart from the crowd.
….A motivated student, willing to forgo memorization of facts in favor of higher order critical thinking skills, will find Austin College an A-1 choice. Those considering graduate school can raise the grade to A+.”
— Barron’s Best Buys in College Education, Tenth Edition
“Academics entail ‘a well-rounded and difficult curriculum that really gives students…bang for their buck,’ combined with ‘tough classes, hard work, and great people.’
…. Though small, Austin College is large enough to ‘host a regular buffet of savant-level geniuses, artistic hippie types, and driven athletes.’” Read the full review.
Austin College was ranked among the Best Western Colleges and was ranked 14th for “Professors Get High Marks” for academic excellence and 13th for “Easiest Campus to Get Around.”
— “The Best 373 Colleges,” Princeton Review, 2011 Edition
“…You don’t need to attend a fabled Ivy to get a big-league education. PARADE asked top high school counselors around the nation to recommend outstanding schools that often fly under the radar.”
Austin College is recognized for our top pre-medical programs.
— PARADE’s College A-list, pre-med
The Institute of International Education Open Doors report ranked Austin College No. 2 in undergraduate participation in study abroad by percent participation.
— Open Doors 2009, released November 2009
Austin College is the highest-ranked Texas college on Sierra‘s 2010 “Cool Schools” green ranking list. The magazine, put out by the Sierra Club, ranked “American colleges and universities according to their environmental practices, green initiatives, and
caliber of sustainability-oriented education.” Austin College is 137th.
— “Cool Schools,” Sierra, 2010
According to the Global Language Monitor’s TrendTopper MediaBuzz College and University Rankings, Austin College is the top college in Texas, in terms of media and internet “buzz.” The Global Language Monitor ranks the nation’s Top 200 colleges and universities according to media awareness, and the appearance of the College in global print and electronic media and on the Internet, including social media such as Twitter.
“Austin College is a small but warm institution where students know their professors personally and have a broad array of majors to choose from. AC’s pre-professional programs, most notably premed, are among the strongest in the state.
…. ‘At the end of four years, students leave with an amazing education, lifelong friends, and happy memories.’“
— Fiske Guide to Colleges, 2011
Austin College ranks 74th in Best Liberal Arts Colleges.
“One of the finest selective liberal arts and sciences colleges in the nation, Austin College seeks students with evidence of academic ability and achievement, an eagerness for intellectual challenge and self-exploration, and a value-centered approach to their involvement.”
—Peterson’s Four-Year Colleges, 2009
Austin College is once again recognized for our commitment to service, hands-on student research, and accessibility in the 2010 Washington Monthly College Guide.
“This small liberal arts college enjoys a big reputation.”
— 2010 Texas College Guide, published by Texas Monthly
Austin College has ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities every year Forbes magazine has published a ranking. The magazine ranks all American public and private colleges and universities. Every school with a Forbes grade must meet a high standard because Forbes reviews only 9% of the 6,600 accredited postsecondary institutions in the U.S. based on the quality of education they provide, the experiences of the students, and how much they achieve. Austin College ranks 198th.
— “America’s Best Colleges,” Forbes, 2010
“AC offers study abroad in 58 countries, internships during the January and summer terms, and fall, spring, and summer internships in Washington, D.C. Work-study, accelerated degree programs in all majors, and dual and student-designed majors are available. There is a 3-2 engineering degree program in conjunction with the University of Texas at Dallas and Washington University in St. Louis, as well as cooperative agreements with Columbia University and Texas A&M University. There are 14 national honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa.”
— Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges, 2011
Austin College ranks 36th in the Great Schools, Great Prices listing for liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report 2010.
“Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included because we work on the premise that the most significant values are among colleges that are above average academically.”
— “America’s Best Colleges,” U.S. News & World Report 2010
Austin College is one of the “A Plus Schools for B-Students,” a new ranking of school that “truly seek a broad, engaged student body.”
— “A Plus Schools for B-Students,” Best Colleges 2011, U.S. News & World Report
For the third year in a row, Austin College was named among “Great Colleges to Work For” in a national survey conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
