Pitt-Bradford recognized as a Best-in-the-Mid-Atlantic College

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has been named to The Princeton Review’s “2025 Best Colleges: Region by Region.” This is the 21st consecutive year that the education services company has recognized the university.

“We are happy to be recognized for the 21st year, which is a testament to our dedicated faculty and staff who support and inspire our students, empowering them to succeed,” said Rick Esch, president of the university.

“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 631 colleges across seven regions that it considers academically outstanding. It was the second year Pitt-Bradford has been included in the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

The Princeton Review determined its ratings based on a survey of 168,000 undergraduate students, who answer 89 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, the 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 said, “All students here need to do is say ‘hi’ to another student, and you can be instant friends.”

Students also commented on life at Pitt-Bradford. “People are always out and about playing pick-up games of football, sand volleyball, soccer and basketball,” said one. “There are clubs for most majors and for a vast majority of interests from MMA to Anime to Star Wars.”

The Princeton Review also rates 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 for sustainability, financial aid and fire safety.

Pitt-Bradford earned a score of 87 in sustainability for its sustainability committee, the percentage of its food budget spend on local and organic food, free transit passes and bike storage.

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 $16,216.

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.

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