The Princeton Review's Annual College Rankings Based on 122,000 Student Surveys Are Now Out in "Best 376 Colleges - 2012 Edition" Guidebook

NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a survey by The Princeton Review that asked 122,000 students at 376 top colleges to rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences, the best professors are at Wellesley College (MA). Florida Southern College (FL) has the most beautiful campus.  Wheaton College (IL) serves the best campus food, and Bryn Mawr College (PA) has the best dorms. However, the college at which students reported the most satisfaction with their financial aid – the issue parents may care most about – is Swarthmore College (PA).

The Princeton Review reports the top 20 ranking colleges in these and 57 other categories in its guidebook, "The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition" (Random House / Princeton Review Books, $22.99), on sale tomorrow. Other lists in the book reveal the colleges at which students most highly rated their school's administrators, career center, and health services – a new ranking list category in this year's edition.  

The book's college profiles also feature unique ratings. All 376 schools are scored from 60 to 99 in eight categories including Financial Aid, Fire Safety, and Green: a rating based on environmental commitments. The book's college profiles and ranking lists will post on www.PrincetonReview.com today.

"Each of our 376 best colleges offers outstanding academics," says Robert Franek, the book's author and Princeton Review Senior VP / Publisher. "We don't rank them hierarchically, 1 to 376, because they differ widely -- and importantly -- in their program offerings and campus culture, and that is their strength. Instead, we tally lists of the top 20 schools in 62 categories based entirely on what students at these schools tell us about their campus experiences.  Our goal is not to crown one college 'best' overall, but to help applicants find and get in to the college best for them." 

Other ranking lists in "The Best 376 Colleges"  and #1 colleges on them are:

• Best Administered Colleges – Washington University in St. Louis (MO)
• Best Career Services – University of Florida
• Best Health Services  – University of California-Los Angeles
• Most Conservative Students – Hillsdale College (MI)
• Most Liberal Students – Macalester College (MN)
• Most Politically Active Students – George Washington University (DC)
• Least Religious Students – Bennington College (VT)
• Happiest Students – Rice University (TX)
• Lots of Race/Class Interaction– Loyola University-New Orleans (LA)
• LGBT-Friendly – New York University (NY)
• Best Town-Gown Relations – Clemson University (SC)
• Top Stone-Cold Sober Schools – Brigham Young University (UT)
• Top Party Schools – Ohio University-Athens
• Everyone Plays Intramural Sports – Pennsylvania State University
• Students Pack the Stadium – University of Notre Dame (IN)
• Best Athletic Facilities – Georgia Institute of Technology

About the rankings and survey

The 62 ranking lists are based on surveys of 122,000 students (average 325 per campus) at the 376 schools in the book during the 2010-11 and/or previous two school years. About 88% of the schools in the book appear on one or more of its ranking lists. The 80-question survey asked students about their school's academics, administration, campus life, student body, and themselves. The surveys were completed at http://survey.review.com.

About the ratings

The eight rating scores (60 to 99) are based primarily on institutional data collected during 2010-11. Three "Honor Rolls" in the book salute schools that received the highest score, 99, for Financial Aid (10 colleges), Green (16 colleges), and Fire Safety (17 colleges).  Other rating categories include Admissions Selectivity and Academics.

About the book

Annually published since 1992, "The Best 376 Colleges" is one of 150+ Princeton Review books published by Random House. It includes a section, "Great Schools for 15 Popular College Majors," and a list, "100 Best Value Colleges for 2011."  No school has ever paid a fee to be profiled in the book.  

The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its test-prep courses, tutoring, books, and other student resources. Headquartered in Framingham, MA, with editorial offices in New York and locations across the U.S.A. and abroad, the Company is not a magazine and not affiliated with Princeton University.

SOURCE Random House / Princeton Review Books