Three Virginia schools rank among top producers of Peace Corps volunteers

Published February 19, 2015 by Robert Powell, III

Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia and the College of William & Mary ranked among the top U.S. colleges and universities producing Peace Corps volunteers last year.

Together the three schools had 100 alums join the international program.

Virginia Tech had 43 volunteers in 2014, making it 11th among large colleges and universities (with more than 15,000 undergraduates).

U.Va. tied George Washington University for third for midsize schools (5,000 to 15,000 undergrads) with 36 volunteers in 2014. William & Mary was 12th in the same category with 21 volunteers.

In a state-by-state comparison, Virginia ranked eighth with 260 Peace Corps volunteers, following California (926); New York (412); Washington state (320); Florida (305); Illinois (284); Pennsylvania (270); and Texas (269).

The Washington, D.C., area including Northern Virginia ranked second among U.S. metro areas for volunteers with 284, trailing only the New York City area, which had 335.

The top volunteer producing schools nationwide by category were: large schools, University of Washington (72); midsize schools, Western Washington University (47); and small schools, Gonzaga University, 20.

The statistics are based on the 2014 fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30.