The nation’s three most politically active colleges are, unsurprisingly, located in the national capital.

American, Georgetown and George Washington universities took the top three spots in that order in a ranking by The Princeton Review, the Framingham, Mass.-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company.

The Princeton Review said the rankings were derived from student responses to the question: "How popular are political/activist groups on your campus?" It also published rankings on colleges with the most conservative students and most liberal students.

The University of Maryland at College Park was ranked 10th.

Some of the things students said about the three universities:

American University: “American University exploits its Washington, D.C., location—that facilitates a strong faculty, prestigious guest lecturers, and “a wealth of internship opportunities.”

George Washington University: “Get ready for ‘hands-on learning in an environment unlike any other’ at George Washington University, where a location ‘four blocks away from the White House, down the street from the State Department, and near nearly all world headquarters’ means ‘connections and opportunity’ for undergraduates.”

Georgetown University: ”This moderately sized elite academic establishment stays true to its Jesuit foundations by educating its students with the idea of ‘cura personalis, or ‘care for the whole person.’ The ‘well-informed’ student body perpetuates upon itself, creating an atmosphere full of vibrant intellectual life, that is “also balanced with extracurricular learning.”

The following colleges figured in the list of 20 Most Politically Active colleges:

#1. American University, Washington, D.C.
#2. Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
#3. George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
#4. Amherst College, Amherst, Mass.
#5. New College of Florida, Sarasota, Fla.
#7. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
#8. Warren Wilson College, Asheville, N.C.
#9. United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
#10. University of Maryland, College Park, Md.
#14. New York University, New York
#16. Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.
#17. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.