Again this year, Catawba College is ranked among "The Best 377 Colleges" by The Princeton Review in its 2013 annual college guide.
Catawba was also named to The Princeton Review's 2013 Green Honor Roll, one of only 21 colleges in the nation and one of only two in North Carolina to receive the highest possible score – a 99 – in the publication's tallies.
Only about 15% of America's 2,500 four-year colleges and three colleges outside the U.S.A. are profiled in the book, available on newsstands August 21. It includes detailed profiles of the colleges with rating scores for all schools in eight categories, plus ranking lists of top 20 schools in the book in 62 categories based on The Princeton Review's surveys of students attending the colleges.
Robert Franek, Princeton Review's Senior VP / Publisher and author of "The Best 377 Colleges" said, "We commend Catawba College for its outstanding academics, which is the primary criteria for our selection of schools for the book. Our choices are based on institutional data we collect about schools, our visits to schools over the years, feedback we gather from students attending the schools, and the opinions of our staff and our 30-member National College Counselor Advisory Board. We also work to keep a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character."
In its profile on Catawba College, The Princeton Review praises the school for its willingness "to take a chance on some applicants who may not make the cut at Davidson, Duke, or Chapel Hill." The Princeton Review also notes, "Students who may not have been the highest achievers in high school, but are ready to excel at the college level should put Catawba on their list. For students of all stripes with an interest in theater or music, Catawba demands consideration."
In Catawba's profile, Catawba students whom the Company surveyed for the book were largely complimentary about their campus experiences. "Class sizes are small in order for you to receive as much of a personalized education as possible." The college has "a small, close-knit community where you can really get to know your professors and your fellow classmates," one student said. Another student cautioned not to let Catawba's small size fool you as "big things come in small packages." One student explained that students tend to be "busy, busy, busy. Everyone is active. Campus clubs are huge, and there is a school-sponsored event every weekend."
The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in the book academically or from 1 to 377 in any category. Instead, it reports in the book 62 ranking lists of "top 20" colleges in various categories. The lists are entirely based on The Princeton Review's survey of 122,000 students (about 324 per campus on average) attending the colleges in the book and not on The Princeton Review's opinion of the schools. The 80-question survey asks students to rate their own schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences at them. Topics range from assessments of their professors to opinions about their financial aid and campus food. Other ranking lists are based on student reports about their student body's political leanings, race/class relations, and LGBT community acceptance. The Princeton Review explains the basis for each ranking list in the book and on the Pinceton Review website.
Catawba earned a place on the following ranking list in "The Best 377 Colleges": Town-Gown Relations Are Great." Catawba ranked 18th out of the 20 colleges that made this list.
The schools in "The Best 377 Colleges" also have rating scores in eight categories that The Princeton Review tallies based primarily on institutional data collected from the schools during the 2011-12 academic year. The ratings are scores on a scale of 60 to 99 and they appear in each school profile. Rating categories include Academics, Admissions Selectivity, Financial Aid, Fire Safety, and Green, a measure of school's commitment to the environment in its policies, practices and education programs. Among the ratings in the Catawba profile are scores of 99 for Green and 76 for Quality of Life. The Princeton Review explains the basis for each rating score in the book and on the Princeton Review website.
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