When the U.S. Vice Presidential Debate took place at Longwood University back in 2016, leaders in the community made a point of highlighting Farmville as a two-college town. That is a noteworthy distinction worth heralding by itself, but we are pleased to be able to highlight this characteristic even further with a particularly praiseworthy modifier — we have two great colleges in our town.

The Princeton Review has once again put a spotlight on both Hampden-Sydney College (H-SC) and Longwood as being among the best colleges in the nation.

A Longwood press release last week noted that the university “has again been named one of the top regional universities in the United States by Princeton Review, one of the most popular and influential college rankings published each year. Being named to the Best Colleges list is an honor reserved for only 13 percent of four-year colleges and universities in the country.”

A H-SC release from last week cited that the college was named by The Princeton Review “as a top college in its 2020 edition of The Best 385 Colleges.”

The release continued by stating that in addition to H-SC’s selection as a top college, its library, the Bortz Library, “has been ranked the fifth-best college library — up from 18th last year. Since its opening in 2007, Bortz Library has consistently been listed as one of the best in the country.

“The college also appeared in The Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges, released in January, naming H-SC’s alumni network fourth in the nation — up from fifth nationally the previous year,” the release continued. “And Hampden-Sydney’s career preparation continues to earn top rankings, with Princeton Review ranking the college in the top 20 schools for internships.”

Shedding light on how the overall rankings are formulated, the Longwood release cited that they are based on surveys of more than 140,000 students across the country, who reported on their experiences on campus but also take into account standard metrics like affordability, selectivity and financial aid availability.

The H-SC release also noted that The Princeton Review chooses the colleges for rankings based on data collected annually from administrators at hundreds of colleges about their institutions’ academic offerings.

It is a real testament to the overall quality of Longwood and Hampden-Sydney that both their students and employees are giving them such high marks. We commend both institutions for their outstanding work and wish them a great 2019-20 school year.