The 10 Colleges With The Least Happy Students: Princeton Review List

Not everyone is entirely happy with their college experience. Some schools have higher rates of dissatisfaction than others, however.

The Princeton Review recently named colleges with the least happy students. New Jersey Institute of Technology topped the list with Pennsylvania's Marywood University coming in second.

Check out our slide show of the 10 most unhappy colleges. Then tell us, was your college experience unhappy? Weigh in below!

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Comments

[loveeandpeacee]

04:28 PM on 12/09/2011

I go to Clarkson and this doesn't surprise me at all. You enjoy it for the first semester then after that you hate it and it makes you miserable. It is a tech school so the difficulty alone makes you miserable. The fact that it is in the middle of nowhere doesn't help. The campus is nice but not much to do and you are always doing work if you are an engineering student. So I can fully admit that I am unhappy here but I stick around because its a quality education with a good job placement.

[MarissaA]

07:09 PM on 12/08/2011

Did anyone ever think about the fact that people who go to these colleges come from far away, and have to travel a long way to get home, so they can't visit their families often and get homesick? Or maybe the town where the campus is doesn't have much to do with the students? They may be lonely because everyone seems to be the same; college is supposed to broaden your interpersonal horizons. They may feel depressed because they all share the same exact traits: a specific religion, belief or value system, ethnicity; maybe they CAN'T date because of their sameness. Or a combination of that, and stress of too much work and expectations placed on them? Or the dorms don't allow kids to have much interaction. Just looking at these photos, it seems like these places don't even TRY to make the campuses look pretty, inviting, or even the least bit interesting. Maybe the layout of the buildings is just plain ugly, or designed badly for human interaction. (This sucks, too, because my son just started at Clarkson this year!)

[Megs6147]

07:29 AM on 12/20/2011

It's all perception. Clarkson does try to make the campus pretty but as a student you realize that they only do so when hockey games are being held or there is a family weekend or new student activities held on campus. I went to Clarkson too. It is in the middle of no where but you can choose to sit around and be miserable or to make friends and find things you enjoy doing to make yourself happy.

[FrmRussiaWitSol]

02:02 PM on 12/08/2011

As a current Baruch College student i am not surprised by this at all. Our college simply does not care about us, only its juicy taxpayer money, and if it gets cut they pass the savings onto us (tuition hikes), i had to be kicked out of college because of their tier gpa system i had a 1.996 gpa and got kicked out because the cut off was 2. even though my gpa for that semester was a 3.5. I called the dean and she was rude and unhelpful. basically said that its computerized and there is nothing she can do (bullshit) so i was forced to sit out a semester. They make u take 3 years of unnecessary classes ($$$), and once you get to your major you forgot why u came to baruch. Thanks to their pre requisites i cant take my major because i dont pass gpa wise. I wanted to be a CIS major but i was required to take acct, eco, stats, eco2, calc, precal, and had to get a 3.0 gpa in that, some of the hardest classes the school had to offer. plus factor in over crowding at the school nowadays ($$$) its just not right. I cant even get the classes i need.. this is ridiculous, they simply dont care, they wait under the b***ls of the govt and then we stand under them.

[InverseLaplace]

08:23 AM on 12/05/2011

I'm currently a grad student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and yes, it is quite miserable here. Arrogant professors, unsympathetic administrators, and political garb seem to be the status quo. I can't wait to get out of this place!

[Anya Barry]

02:10 PM on 12/03/2011

Suny Purchase should be on here for sure. So depressing

[Marlow99]

04:57 PM on 12/02/2011

So what are the reasons the students are unhappy [likewise what makes the dormitory so much like a dungeon?]

[Apathetical]

10:44 AM on 12/02/2011

I attended NJIT. My college experience was pretty miserable. There was no job placement program for my major and I have been struggling for the past 3 years. They still regularly send me letters though asking for an alumni donation though. charming.

[drblair]

09:06 PM on 12/01/2011

I think that it is interesting that 3 out of the 10 colleges in this list are concerned with the water: The Merchant Marine, Coast Guard, and Navy Academies. I wonder why? I would have loved to attend any of them because I love boats and the water. Did their students find out that they didn't get to spend much time on the water at those colleges?

[jjucchino]

08:59 AM on 12/02/2011

yes. the students get to spend tons of time on the water.. in FACT, at the USMMA, they will spend 3 months "on the water" during their sophomore year, and 9 months "on the water" for their Junior year...going around the world and visiting over 20 countries. How many college co-ed's get to say that? And yes, they have a fleet of about a thousand boats- from small sailboats to powerboats to a huge ship. There are training vessels of all sizes. There is a Varsity sailing team that sails (competes) up and down the east coast, and even further south to the Bahama's. The school is on the water and overlooks the NYC skyline. Yes, these kids lead a military life- start off as a plebe and do thousands of push ups and run run run all the time... they wear uniforms and they get yelled at (a lot), yet they're our nations future leaders, are the top kids,and they went through a grueling process to get in. Are they out drinking and being wild like at State schools, well no. so if that's the determination of "being happy", then that's the only factor that would be plausable. Maybe the $250,000 scholarship actually gives these service academy kids something to truly "be happy" about- that and earning a degree (in Engineering), traveling the world, having 100% job placement upon graduation.

[drblair]

10:09 AM on 12/02/2011

Thanks. That is where I should have gove to school, but when I was in HS, I had never seen the ocean and didn't know about the marine service academies. My father was a career army officer, so we had no marine experience. I could have gotten into West Point, (had the grades, etc.) but my father did not encourage me because he knew that as a young officer, I had a very high probability of being killed in combat. I was willing to work hard, and ended up with a Ph.D. in Chemistry. I should have done just fine in the marine service academies.

[baylormaggenti]

07:48 PM on 12/01/2011

Institute of Design, College of Planing and Architecture. Illinois Institute of Technology, BS/H 1975.

I had the time of my life. I actually learned something. After school I could support myself. I went to galleries, the museum's, I worked for the Center for Advanced Research and Design (The ARCO Logo) on Michigan Avenue.

[rewith85man]

07:34 PM on 12/01/2011

Indeed, college is better than grade school.

At least college students do not have to worry about being bullied and or discriminated as much as elementary, middle, and high school students are.

[ghelm92160]

07:24 PM on 12/01/2011

U.S.C.G. stands for Uncle Sams Confused Group or Your Screwed Coming or Going!

[bearsparten]

07:59 PM on 12/01/2011

You must not have gone to college. You probably couldn't have handled a military college

[jjucchino]

09:02 AM on 12/02/2011

no, idiot. United States Coast Guard Academy is one of the 5 service academies in our country. Duh.

[sailcatter]

07:12 PM on 12/01/2011

I don't care if my college kid is "happy". I am paying for him to gain saleable skills that can help him land a job. Hopefully the ability to earn a decent living will make him happier.

[gmgpjandon]

07:32 PM on 12/01/2011

Good luck with that.

[rewith85man]

07:36 PM on 12/01/2011

All parents have to say to their kids who want to drop out of school is that they would be working at dead end jobs for the rest of their lives.

What's more pleasant: going to school and staying until you get a degree and gain an awesome job or drop out and work at a job where you earn low pay, little respect, etc.?

The choice is theirs.

[ChunkyLover53]

09:02 PM on 12/01/2011

Life is short, appreciate it. Just becasue a person does not attend college does not mean they will be a low achiever and vice-versa. Just because you get that degree does not mean you will have an "awesome job." Steve jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates all dropped out of college; however they did eventually go back. But that is their own personal choice. It is hard work and dedication that gets you somewhere in life. The college degree is just a piece of paper at the end that you have been through he hoops. I am not a drop out. I pay for my own college and I do attend one of these schools.

[Truwriter]

06:51 PM on 12/01/2011

Most are high tech school meaning incredible standards and some are military academies that run like Marine Corp basic training 24/7 so those make sense to have students who cannot wait to get out. But some are just regular colleges. So why are they so bad? The article does not explain any of that.

[baylormaggenti]

07:54 PM on 12/01/2011

The schools are hard and unforgiving, just like life. I work with the Coast Guard and their Officers are some of the finest men I know. They have to want it, BAD!

[jjucchino]

02:15 PM on 12/02/2011

!!!!! they're NOT bad and don't believe everything you read. My son attends an Academy- is in the best shape of his life, works his butt off with his academics, and fully appreciates the $250,000 scholarship and guaranteed profitable job placement post graduation. (Son came home over Thanksgiving break and met up with old high school friends- some had gained over 20 lbs (already... school has been going on for just 3 months!), some talked of drinking binges and now smoking pot (formerly GOOD kids) or about sleeping in what they love to watch on TV... son was TOTALLY shocked.)) Mabye the criteria for the article was that drinking binges, not going to class, drugs, and gaining way too much weight = happiness? The Academy kids went back to school with knowing that they were at an incredible school, and fully understand the incredible opportunities they will have. -classmantes at the USMMA are called "classmates for life" and the bonds they've formed are deep. Think maybe this article based "happiness" on the wrong thing.

[jt2]

06:40 PM on 12/01/2011

Actually, I'd like to know what the story is that goes with the headline! What is it that is causing this unhappiness? Small dorm rooms, bad food, tough classes, missing Mom doing your laundry? Really, who cares? Don't like college? Get your sorry butts out there and pound the pavement for a six figure job!!!LMAO!And don't go whining about your student loans, either!

[HiJingo]

08:09 PM on 12/01/2011

Didn't you hear? The media doesn't have to supply any sort of supporting information for anything any more! We are just supposed to nod and smile and agree.

[Gradivus 777]

07:24 AM on 12/03/2011

I thought the same thing. The reason is, this is just a teaser for the "Princeton Review" college guide. They supposedly have all that info in the book, but you have to pay $22.99 plus tax, S&H to find out!

[jamesw34677]

06:24 PM on 12/01/2011

Well just look at this If youndon't like the college just go to another one. Very easy to do once accepted at one to go to another.

[GOODDOC1]

07:07 PM on 12/01/2011

Not easy to get out if you're in one of the Service Academies.

[jjucchino]

02:16 PM on 12/02/2011

oh yes it is! fail a class = get kicked out. get into trouble = get kicked out. don't make it through INDOC = get kicked out. It's VERY easy to leave a service academy! the hard part is staying IN and making it to GRADUATION!!!!!!!!