RELEASED: Aug. 25, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—For the eighth straight year, Centre College is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to the Princeton Review. The New York-based educational services company features Centre in The Best 361 Colleges, the 2006 edition of its annual “best colleges” guide.

Centre’s faculty was also singled out in the “Professors get high marks” category, and the College was listed as one of “American’s Best Value College.” Centre had the highest academic rating of any Kentucky institution.

Last week, U.S. News rated Centre No. 9 in its “Great Colleges, Great Prices” category, and No. 41 among liberal arts colleges nationally. [link: http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2005/usnews05.html]

The Princeton Review asked 110,000 students at 361 top colleges to rate their college on a variety of criteria. Topics include: academics/administration, life at the school, their fellow students, and themselves. Surveys are conducted on campuses and online.

"The main factor in our selection of schools in the book was our high regard for their academic programs,” says Robert Franek, vice president for publishing at the Princeton Review. “We evaluated them based on institutional data we collect about the schools, feedback from students at them, and visits to schools over the years. We also considered the opinions of independent college counselors, students and parents we talk to and survey. Finally, we worked to have a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character.”

Some of the Centre students surveyed offered comments on their experience. One student praised the “awesome study abroad programs.” Others singled out the strong academics—“Classes, as a rule, are difficult, but we learn to push ourselves and achieve more”—and the personal attention that is a hallmark of the Centre experience. “Centre’s greatest strength is that no one can slip through the figurative cracks, since nearly every person at Centre seems genuinely concerned about the students,” said one. He continued, “Even the president of the College tries to get to know each student by name…. Where else would your college president have you over for a BBQ, teach a class, and perform in a concert? Only at Centre.”

Reed College in Portland, Ore. was rated highest by the surveyed students for academics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was “toughest to get into.”

For more on the Princeton Review, go to http://www.princetonreview.com/.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.

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