RIPON, Wis. – Ripon College is again counted among the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The New York-based education services company known for its test-prep courses features Ripon in the new 2009 edition of its annual book, “The Best 368 Colleges.” Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and two Canadian colleges are in the book. It has two-page profiles of the schools and student survey-based ranking lists of top 20 colleges in more than 60 categories.
“Year after year, national rankings such as the Princeton Review validate what we tell people about the value and quality of a Ripon education,” said Steve Schuetz, Ripon’s vice president of Admission and Financial Aid. “This survey in particular reflects the sentiments of actual Ripon students, which is as satisfying for us as it is useful for prospective students and their families when making crucial decisions about their future.”
Ripon is on the following ranking lists in the 2009 edition of the book:
- #3 - Town-Gown Relations are Great
- #3 - Professors Get High Marks
- #4 - Everyone Plays Intramural Sports
- #14 - Most Accessible Professors
- #18 - Students Happy with Financial Aid
Said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's vice president of publishing, “We chose schools for this book primarily for their outstanding academics. We evaluated them based on institutional data we collect about the schools, feedback from students attending them, and our visits to schools over the years. We also consider the opinions of independent college counselors, students, and parents we hear from year-long. Finally, we work to have a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character.”
In its profile on Ripon, The Princeton Review quotes extensively from students it surveyed for the book. One student said, “As clichéd as it sounds, the community is what makes Ripon worthwhile. Going to a professor’s house for dinner or having class in the local coffee shop is common.”
Another noted that most Ripon students are “outgoing and very friendly, and are quick to say hello even if they don’t know your name.”
In a "Survey Says ..." sidebar in the book's profile on Ripon, The Princeton Review lists topics that Ripon students surveyed for the book were in most agreement about. This year’s list includes: “Small classes,” “Students are friendly,” “Campus feels safe,” and “Intramural sports are popular.”
About the Princeton Review/Methodology
The Princeton Review (www.PrincetonReview.com) is a New York-based company known for its test preparation, education, and college admission services. It is not affiliated with Princeton University and it is not a magazine.
The ranking lists in "The Best 368 Colleges" are based on The Princeton Review's survey of 120,000 students (about 325 per campus on average) attending the 368 colleges in the book. A college's appearance on these lists is attributable to a high consensus among its surveyed students about the subject. The 80-question survey asked students to rate their schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences at them. Ranking lists report the top 20 schools in categories that range from best professors, administration, and campus food to lists based on student body political leanings, race/class relations, sports interests, and other aspects of campus life. The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in the book 1 to 368 in any category, nor do the rankings reflect their opinion of the schools.
The school profiles in “The Best 368 Colleges” also have school ratings in eight categories. The ratings are numerical scores on a scale of 60 to 99 based largely on school-reported data collected during the 2007-08 academic year. Rating categories include Admissions Selectivity, Financial Aid, Fire Safety, and a new Green rating that The Princeton Review developed in partnership with ecoAmerica, a Washington-based environmental organization. The Green rating is based on several criteria concerning environmental policies and practices reported by the colleges to The Princeton Review.
About Ripon College
Ripon College, founded in 1851, prepares students of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship. Ripon’s liberal arts curriculum and residential campus create an intimate learning community in which students experience a richly personalized education. Ripon has consistently been recognized as a “best value” and “Best 368 College” by The Princeton Review, a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s, a “Best Liberal-Arts College” by Washington Monthly, and is listed among the 160 best schools in the nation by Colleges of Distinction. For more information about Ripon College, visit www.ripon.edu.
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