UD listed among 'Best 361 Colleges'

9:51 a.m., Sept. 9, 2005--The University of Delaware is among the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review's new guide, The Best 361 Colleges, recently published by the New York-based education services company.

The 2006 edition of the annual guide lists only about 15 percent of the four-year colleges in America and two Canadian colleges. Each school is featured in a two-page profile, and the top 20 colleges in various categories are listed, based on student surveys.

The University of Delaware profile includes praise from students in the area of academics, particularly citing the ability to work with excellent faculty who are described as "extremely accessible." Students also give high marks to the University's undergraduate research, study-abroad programs and extracurricular activities.

A section on campus life praises the many activities on and near the campus, as well as the accessibility of New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. One student writes that UD "has achieved the perfect balance between strong and challenging academic work and social events."

UD students were most in agreement on the high quality of the computing facilities, library, athletics facilities and that students are friendly and happy.

According to Robert Franek, vice president for publishing at The Princeton Review, "The main factor in our selection of schools in the book was our high regard for their academic programs. We evaluated them based on institutional data we collect about the schools, feedback from students at them and visits to schools over the years. We also considered the opinions of independent college counselors, students and parents we talk to and survey. Finally, we worked to have a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character.”

The ranking is based on a survey of 110,000 students attending the colleges in the book. Students rated their schools on several topics and reported on their campus experiences at them. Ranking list categories range from best professors, administration and campus food to lists based on student body political leanings, interests in sports and other aspects of campus life.

The Princeton Review posts the book's ranking lists on its web site [www.PrincetonReview.com].

The Best 361 Colleges, the 14th edition of The Princeton Review's annual "best colleges" guide, is one of more than 200 Princeton Review books published by Random House. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University or ETS.

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