The Princeton Review's Annual College Rankings In 62 Categories Due Out Soon On Company's Website And "Best 379 Colleges" Guidebook

- Lists Reveal Top 20 Colleges in Categories From "Great Financial Aid" and "Best Career Services" to "Best Science Facilities"

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Random House / Princeton Review Books

Aug 04, 2014, 12:15 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a Princeton Review survey that asked students at 379 top colleges to rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences, the college at which students reported the highest satisfaction with their financial aid awards was Pomona College (CA).

Northeastern University (MA) earned the #1 spot for "Best Career Services" (a list The Princeton Review created at the urging of a college parent in 2007). The college ranked tops for "Best Science Facilities" for the 2^nd consecutive year was the California Institute of Technology: its students gave their lab facilities the strongest ratings. The school at which students gave their professors the highest marks as teachers was Reed College (OR).

Lists of the top 20 colleges in these and 58 other categories will post today at www.princetonreview.com. The lists are also published in the new edition of Princeton Review's annual college guide, "The Best 379 Colleges" (Random House / Princeton Review Books, 2015 Edition, $23.99) on sale tomorrow.

"Every college in our book offers outstanding academics," said Robert Franek, Review Senior VP / Publisher. "These colleges differ significantly in their program offerings, campus culture, locales, and cost. Our purpose is not to crown one college 'best' overall or to rank these distinctive schools 1 to 379 on any single topic. We present our 62 ranking lists to give applicants the broader base of campus feedback to choose the college that's best for them."

Other lists in the book and #1 colleges on them:

Most Beautiful Campus – Colgate University (NY)
Best-Run College – Elon University (NC)
Best College Library – University of Chicago (IL)
Best Campus Food – Virginia Tech (VA)
Best College Dorms – Washington University in St. Louis (MO)
Best Health Services – Penn State University (PA)
Happiest Students – Vanderbilt University (TN)
Most Conservative Students – Texas A&M University (TX)
Most Liberal Students – Sarah Lawrence College (NY)
LGBT-Friendly – Stanford University (CA)
Best Athletic Facilities – University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (IL)
Students Pack the Stadiums – University of Kansas (KS)
Top Party Schools – Syracuse University (NY)
Top Stone-Cold Sober Schools – Brigham Young University (UT)
Their Students Love These Colleges – Claremont McKenna College (CA)

The rankings are based on surveys of 130,000 students (average 343 per campus) at the colleges in the book in 2013-14 and/or the previous two school years. The survey (http://survey.review.com) asks students 80 questions about their school's academics, administration, student body, and themselves. The ranking methodology (www.princetonreview.com/how-we-do-it.aspx) uses a five-point Likert scale to convert qualitative student assessments into quantitative data for school-to-school comparisons.

The Princeton Review also rates all schools in the book in eight categories. The ratings (scores from 60 to 99) are based primarily on data from Princeton Review's 2013-14 surveys of administrators at the colleges. Rating categories include: Financial Aid, Green, and Fire Safety (schools scoring 99 in these categories make the book's Honor Rolls for those topics), plus Admissions Selectivity, and Academics.

Annually published since 1992, "The Best 379 Colleges" is one of 150 Random House / Princeton Review books. In addition to its college profiles, rankings, and ratings, the book includes two lists: "Great Schools for 20 Popular College Majors" and "150 Best Value Colleges." 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 Natick, MA, with editorial offices in New York and locations across the U.S. and abroad, the Company is not affiliated with Princeton University.

WEBSITE: http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings.aspx

SOURCE Random House / Princeton Review Books