Princeton Review Lauds SIUC

University Communications

The Princeton Review has named Southern Illinois University Carbondale among the top 25 percent of U.S. universities.

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 "Regional Best" represent only about 25 percent of the four-year colleges and universities, putting SIUC in the top quarter of universities nationwide, according to Princeton Review.

The Review described SIUC as affordable and diverse and noted "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 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."