July 31, 2009

Princeton Review lauds SIUC as a top university

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Salukis know it already but (once again) it’s official -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale is one of best colleges in the Midwest region.

The Princeton Review, the prestigious education preparation company, released its “2010 Best Colleges: Region by Region” list this week, including SIUC in its “Best Colleges” designation. Colleges named in the “Regional Best” represent only about 25% of the four-year colleges and universities, putting SIUC in the top quarter of universities nation-wide, according to Princeton Review.

The Princeton Review described SIUC as “affordable” and “diverse,” noting a “very friendly” campus. Student quotes reflect overall satisfaction with the faculty, whom students describe as “approachable” and having a “genuine interest in their students.” Students also noted the economic diversity that is a hallmark of SIUC, and praised the beauty of the campus.

“We chose SIUC and the other terrific schools we recommend as our ‘regional best’ colleges primarily for their excellent academic programs,” Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s Vice President of Publishing, said. “We also work to have our roster of ‘regional best’ colleges feature a range of institutions by size, selectivity, character and locale. We choose the schools based on institutional data we collect from several hundred schools in each region, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of independent and high school-based college advisors whose recommendations we invite. We also take into account what each school’s customers -- their students -- report to us about their campus experiences on our 80-question student survey.”

For more information about the Princeton Review, contact Harriet Brand (Corporate) at 212/874-8282 ext. 1091 or Harrietb@Review.com or Jeanne Krier (Princeton Review Books) at 212/539-1350 or Jeanne@Jeannekrier.com.