Sweet Briar’s mighty school spirit wins #MyTopCollege contest once again

Sweet Briar’s campus boasts 3,250 acres and 21 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.


There’s something about Sweet Briar College and online contests. (We’ve heard it’s our alumnae.) We just can’t seem to not win them.



It all started with Forbes’ 2015 #MyTopCollege contest right after the College stayed open, followed by two unforgettable campus appearances from Seth Meyers and Rachel Platten — both the result of online competitions. Last year, the College took home the #MyTopCollege win again and this year, well: Here we are. Sweet Briar is the #MyTopCollege winner among small schools yet again.

It’s important to point out that Forbes categorizes any college with fewer than 2,000 students as “small.” Sweet Briar has about 300 students, and has never really had more than 700. To win this contest for the third time in five years is a testament to just how passionate our alumnae, students, faculty, staff and alumnae are. (Did we mention our alumnae?)



In the large-schools category, California State University, Fullerton came out on top once again, as did Otterbein University among medium-sized schools. Overall, Sweet Briar ranked fourth in the country, with nearly 170 posts submitted. According to Forbes, a record number of nearly 2,000 submissions came in on Instagram and Twitter between June 18 and Aug. 10. This year’s theme was impact, with different sub-categories each week: the impact of professors, clubs, sports, classes, events, friendships and more.

Forbes will release its annual America’s Top Colleges listing — the official companion to its fun social media contest — on Aug. 21.