Philadelphia Area Scores Big in Latest College Rankings
Plus, new report says proposed Sixers arena would basically decimate Chinatown.
Students on the campus of Philadelphia’s University of Pennsylvania. which is the sixth-best college or university in the country, according to the latest Niche college rankings (Getty Images)
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Philadelphia Area Scores Big On Latest Niche College Rankings
If you haven’t noticed, we here at Philly Mag love our lists. (Okay, well not this list or this list. But, for the most part, we are pro-list.) And there’s a new list of college rankings that I want to call your attention to.
College rankings used to be all about U.S. News & World Report. But over the years and especially after lots of controversy surrounding the U.S. News & World Report college rankings, the Niche college rankings have been enjoying more of the college rankings market share.
The Pittsburgh-based company, which has been around for more than 20 years, just released its big list of the 100 Best Colleges In America — the “colleges” they’re referring to are both colleges and universities — and the Philadelphia area didn’t fail to impress. Five Philadelphia-area colleges and universities landed on the top 100 list.
The University of Pennsylvania came in 6th place, bested by, in this order, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Columbia and Harvard. The other Philadelphia area schools to make the top 100 cut were Swarthmore College at 38, Villanova at 64, Haverford at 68, and Drexel, which just cracked the top 100 list, coming in at 99.
Niche also ranks colleges for specific qualities. When you look at the best colleges in America for business, the University of Pennsylvania is in first place, thanks to Wharton. Temple may not have made the top 100 list, but it does rank 20th in terms of party schools.
Swarthmore College ranks notably high on some of these more specific lists. In terms of diversity, Niche says Swarthmore is the fourth-best school in America. If you’re looking for a liberal arts school, Swarthmore stands in 5th place. And if small colleges are your thing, Swarthmore is in sixth place on that list.
For all of the Niche college rankings, go here.
About That Proposed Philadelphia 76ers Arena
We’ve been waiting and waiting for some big impact reports on the arena that the Sixers controversially want to build next to Chinatown in Philadelphia. And those reports finally landed in our lap last night. Everybody in the pro-arena camp seems to be cheering on the reports, because they project that potential issues like parking and traffic really won’t be a big deal, and there’s the obvious economic impact that the city as a whole could enjoy as a result of having a downtown arena.
But the biggest question everybody should be asking themselves about this proposed Sixers arena is … What about Chinatown? Indeed, one of the reports does delve into this question, examining what such a massive development would have on the small but vitally important neighborhood that the arena would abut. And what does the report say? It says that the arena would basically decimate Chinatown. The one stat that really jumped out to me was that just over 50 percent of businesses in Chinatown would “experience net-negative economic benefit” (translation: that’s bad!) while less than 20 percent of the business would “experience positive benefit.” The rest of the businesses would “experience varied benefits and eventually move to a net positive or negative category.”
The developers can’t move forward with the arena without the approval of City Council, which is about to return from summer break. Things are about to get interesting.
For more on the concerns surrounding the proposed Sixers arena, read my interview with John Chin, who is pretty much the mayor of Chinatown. To dive even deeper, consider this feature on arena developer David Adelman. And for the full reports (you’ll want to set aside a few hours to fully digest these things), go here.
By the Numbers
$11: What it will cost you to attend any Opera Philadelphia performance at the Academy of Music this season. The opera company just instituted a new “pick your price” policy that allows you to, well, pick your price, the lowest price being $11. And that $11 ticket isn’t for some nosebleed. No, any seat in the majestic concert hall is available for $11. The idea comes from new Opera Philadelphia head Anthony Roth Costanzo, whom we profiled in the August issue. So do you have $11 to spare? Sure, you could buy a Shorti, a soda, and a small bag of chips at Wawa. Or you could buckle in for Opera Philadelphia’s first production of the season, The Listeners, which does not look like your grandmother’s opera. Watch the trailer, and you’ll see what I mean. Get tickets here.
63: Number of School District of Philadelphia schools that will be closing early on Tuesday and Wednesday due to excessive heat, prompting most of us to wonder why the hell they start school before Labor Day.
105: What the heat index in Philadelphia is projected to top out at tomorrow. Drink. Lots. Of. Water. Or, as my kids like to say: Hydrate, don’t die-drate.
Local Talent
What does the Pride of Berks County, aka Taylor Swift, do when she finally gets a break from her massive world tour? She throws a party, of course. In this case, a party at her $17 million Rhode Island mansion. And who attends a Taylor Swift party at her $17 million Rhode Island mansion? Pride of Montgomery County Bradley Cooper, naturally. And it’s not a party until Kylie and Jason Kelce show up, which is exactly what they did. No word on whether Kylie and Jason got their new BFF Wawa to cater the thing.
