The Princeton Review has again recognized St. Mary’s College of Maryland as one of the country’s best institutions for higher education and has included the college in its 2013 edition of “The Best 377 Colleges.” The Princeton Review distinguishes St. Mary’s as one of the nation’s “Best Value Public Colleges,” as well as a “Best Northeastern College” (“2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region” website feature).
St. Mary’s was chosen as a “Best Northeastern College” based on two criteria: academic excellence within the region and student survey results. St. Mary’s was also selected out of 650 schools for its academic value.
The college also scored high in a number of The Princeton Review’s rating categories, in which each school is scored on a scale of 60 to 99 in eight different areas. St. Mary’s scored 90 for “Quality of Life” and 96 for its campus’ “Green” qualities.
In its profile on St. Mary’s, The Princeton Review quotes extensively from St. Mary’s students surveyed for the book. Among comments about campus experiences, St. Mary’s students boasted that the college has an: “immense sense of community”; “small and intimate learning environment”; “a great combination of lecture, discussion, and experiential learning”; and “a stimulating, challenging and altogether high-quality academic experience.”
The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its test-prep courses, tutoring services, books, and other student resources. Headquartered in Framingham, Mass., the company is not affiliated with Princeton University. The ranking lists are entirely based on The Princeton Review’s survey of 122,000 students (about 324 per campus on average) attending the colleges featured in the book. The Princeton Review explains the basis for each rating score at www.princetonreview.com/college/college-ratings.aspx.
