When I was looking at which college to attend, there were several factors that influenced my decision. My biggest concern at the time was which school would offer me the most financial incentives in the form of scholarships and grants. For many of my friends, majors offered and a fun night life were more important. But I don’t remember any of us basing our decisions on how eco-friendly the campuses were.
That’s changing these days, and if you are in the market for a college education, the Sierra Club has just released a list of the “Most Eco-Enlightened Universities.”
The magazine factored in academics, administration, efficiency, energy, food, purchasing, transportation and waste management. They also gave bonus points.
Here are the top 20:
1. University of Colorado at Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
2. University of Washington at Seattle (Seattle, Washington)
3. Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
4. University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont)
5. College of the Atlantic (Bal Harbor, Maine)
6. Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington)
7. University of California at Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)
8. University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
9. University of California at Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
10. Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio)
11. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
12. University of New Hampshire (Durham, New Hampshire)
13. Arizona State University at Tempe (Tempe, Arizona)
14. Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)
15. University of Florida at Gainesville (Gainesville, Florida)
16. Bates College (Lewiston, Maine)
17. Willamette University (Salem, Oregon)
18. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, North Carolina)
19. Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
20. New York University (New York, New York)
None of the colleges I seriously considered even made the list. I’m hoping as the push for green living continues to grow, that more and more colleges will make this list and will make higher scores.
How about you? Is your college on this list? Was that part of your criteria when looking for a college?
Related articles:
