Entrepreneur and The Princeton Review Name the Top 50 Schools With the Entrepreneurial Edge

NEW YORK, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review announce the results of their seventh annual survey ranking the top graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship programs in the nation. From the more than 2,300 programs surveyed by The Princeton Review, 25 undergraduate and 25 graduate are ranked. And in an unprecedented event since the ranking began, a single school took the top spots in both categories -- Babson College.

Ranking second and third in the undergraduate category are the University of Houston and University of Arizona, respectively. For the graduate program category, ranking second is the University of Southern California, followed by Drexel University in the number-three spot.

The areas of excellence linking the 50 schools to the top were teaching business fundamentals in the classroom, staffing their departments with successful entrepreneurs and providing experiential or entrepreneurial opportunities outside of the classroom.

"Not only does this select group of schools offer superlative preparation that successfully combines theory with practical application, but the majority of schools have also developed interesting components that are focused on social entrepreneurship and sustainability," said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's senior vice president of publishing and nationally acclaimed expert on college and graduate school admissions. "A year or two ago these types of initiatives were part of an emerging trend, but there's no question that they've now become an important part of many entrepreneurship programs, and will play a major role within the business community and the economy."

Franek noted that a good example of this type of initiative was EDUN LIVE on Campus, a student-run business at Miami University's Farmer School of Business to help drive trade with sub-Saharan Africa. Developed and run by Miami students, the initiative was created as a way for students to learn about sustainable development in a real world context by promoting and selling t-shirts provided by the socially conscious clothing brand EDUN LIVE.

Universities and Cities Link Up to Support Entrepreneurial Initiatives

This year's ranking is accompanied by a companion article on 10 schools that have excelled at serving as a resource for their respective communities in terms of supporting and fostering entrepreneurship.

According to Amy Cosper, vice president and editor-in-chief at Entrepreneur magazine, "In addition to revealing the rankings, we wanted to take it a step further and identify schools fueling their local economies through innovation and job creation. The resulting piece demonstrates that now more than ever, small businesses are needed to help drive the U.S. economy, magnifying the importance of these programs' roles in helping entrepreneurs succeed."

Two schools, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and DePaul University in Chicago, led the way for fostering entrepreneurship inside the classroom as well as the community. The University of Wisconsin-Madison was recognized for its University Research Park--home to more than 150 companies and 4,000 well-educated, high-wage employees. DePaul was noted for the consulting, educational and resource services it provides Chicago entrepreneurs via its Coleman Center.

For more information and a complete listing of the schools, go to www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges. Full details will also appear in the October issue of Entrepreneur available on newsstands starting September 22.

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About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU) has been a pioneer and leader in helping students achieve their higher education goals for more than 25 years through college and graduate school test preparation and private tutoring. With more than 165 print and digital publications and a free website, www.PrincetonReview.com, the Company provides students and their parents with the resources to research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for higher education. The Princeton Review also partners with schools and guidance counselors throughout the U.S. to assist in college readiness, test preparation and career planning services, helping more students pursue postsecondary education.

                        2009 Best Schools for Entrepreneurs

         25 Top Undergraduate Programs          25 Top Graduate Programs

    Rank        Name                           Rank           Name
    1      Babson College                      1     Babson College
    2      University of Houston               2     University of Southern
                                                      California
    3      University of Arizona               3     Drexel University
    4      Baylor University                   4     Tulane University
    5      Temple University                   5     Rice University
    6      Drexel University                   6     Temple University
    7      University of Dayton                7     University of Washington
    8      DePaul University                   8     University of Arizona
    9      City University of New York-        9     DePaul University
            Baruch College
    10     University of Southern California   10    University of Michigan -
                                                      Ann Arbor
    11     University of Oklahoma              11    University of Wisconsin-
                                                      Madison
    12     Northeastern University             12    Syracuse University
    13     Syracuse University                 13    Northwestern University
    14     Washington University in St. Louis  14    Monterey Institute of
                                                      International Studies
    15     Miami University                    15    University of North
                                                      Carolina at Chapel Hill
    16     University of Wisconsin-Madison     16    University of Louisville
    17     The University of North Carolina    17    University of Illinois at
            at Chapel Hill                            Chicago
    18     Brigham Young University (UT)       18    University of Chicago
    19     Xavier University (OH)              19    Washington University
    20     Loyola Marymount University         20    University of Oregon
    21     Ball State University               21    Southern Methodist
                                                      University
    22     The University of Alabama           22    Rollins College
            Tuscaloosa
    23     University of Iowa                  23    Simmons College School of
                                                      Management
    24     Washington State University         24    Wake Forest University
    25     University of North Dakota          25    University of Missouri-
                                                      Kansas City

SOURCE Entrepreneur Magazine

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