Princeton Review Again Names UNH a "Best in the Northeast" College

UNH is included in the publication’s "Best in the Northeast" list for 2016, which includes 225 institutions in 11 Northeastern states and the District of Columbia. The list is part of the company's website feature, "2016 Best Colleges: Region by Region," which is posted at http://www.princetonreview.com/bestnortheastcolleges.

"Although rankings are not a full picture of a college’s quality, more and more people are using them to identify potential colleges," said Kevin Phillips, UNH’s associate vice president for enrollment management. "Our inclusion was due not only to the overall excellence of our university but to the high participation rate and strong ratings of UNH by our current students."

The Princeton Review, an education services company widely known for its tutoring, test prep programs and college and graduate school guides, also designated 159 colleges in the Midwest, 125 in the West, and 140 in the Southeast as best in their regions. Collectively, the 649 colleges named "regional bests" constitute about 25 percent of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges.

"We're pleased to recommend these colleges, chosen mainly for their excellent academic programs," said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's senior vice president and publisher.

The colleges were selected, he said, based on institutional data collected directly from the schools, from The Princeton Review’s visits to schools over the years, and from the opinions of staff, and college counselors. "We also take into account what students at the schools reported to us. Only schools that permit us to independently survey their students are eligible to be considered for our regional 'best' lists," he said. 

For this project, The Princeton Review asks students attending the schools to rate their own schools on several issues -- from the accessibility of their professors to quality of the campus food -- and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life.  Comments from surveyed students are quoted in the school profiles on The Princeton Review site. The profiles also have a "Survey Says" list that reveals topics about which students surveyed at the school were in highest agreement.The schools in The Princeton Review’s "2016 Best Colleges: Region by Region" also are rated on academics, admissions selectivity, financial aid, fire safety, quality of life, and being "green." The Princeton Review explains the criteria for each rating score on its site at http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/college-ratings.