Washington state leads in Peace Corps rankings
The state of Washington is well on its way to becoming known for one of the nation's top producers of Peace Corps volunteers.
For the second time in three years, schools in the state have been ranked for producing the most volunteers currently serving in Peace Corps in small, medium and large-sized undergraduate colleges and universities, according to annual Peace Corps rankings.
The University of Washington was ranked first among large schools with 72 alumni currently in service, while the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which was first last year, came in second with 69 volunteers.
"Washington really attracts people with a sprit of adventure and exploration," Ben Conway, a Peace Corps regional recruiter based in Seattle says. "The Peace Corps really requires that spirit of going into something new, and unknown."
Several colleges in the small college category improved their rankings in 2015. The University of Puget Sound (No. 14 to No. 3), Middlebury College (No. 14 to No. 3) and Grinnell College (No. 21 to No. 10) all jumped 11 spots in the 2015 rankings.
Out of medium schools, Western Washington University took the No.1 spot with 47 volunteers, while American University took the No. 2 spot with 41 alumni currently serving, and George Washington University and the University of Virginia came in third place, each with 36 alumni in service.
"Schools that have strong partnerships with international universities, or international student exchange, typically perform well," according to Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet.
The Peace Corps began classifying colleges by small, medium and large institutions and ranking them by volunteers currently serving in 2003.
The 2015 rankings come a year after the Peace Corps unveiled changes that included shortening applications, and allowing potential volunteers to choose the location they are serving in. Hessler-Radelet says the changes seem to be working.
In 2010, there were 13,430 applications, which dropped to 10,091 and 10,118 in 2012 and 2013 respectively. In 2014, after the application process changed, the Peace Corps saw a 22-year application high with 17,336 applications.
While recruiting efforts are on the rise and so are applicants, that doesn't mean there will be more Peace Corp volunteers. The organization still can only have as many volunteers as there is funding available, says Hessler Radelet.
Christina Colley, 26, is a primary education teacher trainer for the Peace Corps in Grenada, an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Colley, who graduated from Saint Michael's College in Vermont in 2010, says she knew she wanted to be a part of the Peace Corps when she was in high school, but took a few years after her undergraduate work before applying.
"I fell in love with the idea of going to another country and doing service work," Colley says. "For me it wasn't really a recruitment process, because I knew I wanted to do it, but some people do it for the experience of living abroad, or for career moves."
While some potential candidates go into college knowing they want to be in the Corps, others become interested through campus outreach, according to Katrina Deutsch, a recruiter at Boston University.
Deutsch says the shortened application process has freed up local recruiters to focus solely on increasing application numbers.
When she began working for the Peace Corps in 2012, she covered New Hampshire, parts of Massachusetts, and Maine by herself.
Today, Deutsch says she splits the Boston metropolitan area with another recruiter and focuses mainly on Boston University, which is ranked 24th in the large colleges category. The simplified application also means she no longer interviews potential candidates.
"It used to be 50/50, recruiting and interviewing people that applied but now the focus is really on amping up recruitment," Deutsch says.
Top three colleges and universities for large, medium and small institutions, and number of volunteers serving:
Large colleges & universities (more than 15,000 undergraduates):
1. University of Washington (72)
2. University of Wisconsin–Madison (69)
3. University of Florida (66)
Medium colleges & universities (between 5,000 and 15,000 undergraduates)
1. Western Washington University (47)
2. American University (41)
3. George Washington University (36) and University of Virginia (36)
Small colleges & universities (less than 5,000 undergraduates):
1. Gonzaga University (20)
2. Carleton College (17)
3. Middlebury College (16)
3. University of Puget Sound (16)
Graduate schools:
1. University of Denver (18)
1. Tulane University (18)
3. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (14)
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