Pitt Is One of the Best Institutions for Undergrad Education, Says Princeton Review

The University of Pittsburgh is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review’s 2015 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 379 Colleges.

Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and only four colleges outside the United States are profiled in the book, which is The Princeton Review’s flagship college guide.

“The University of Pittsburgh offers outstanding academics, which is the chief reason we selected it for the book,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior vice president, publisher, and author of The Best 379 Colleges.

“We base our choices primarily on data we obtain in our annual surveys of administrators at these schools and at hundreds of other colleges,” Franek added. “We take into account input we get from our staff, our 27-member National College Counselor Advisory Board, our personal visits to schools, and the sizable amount of feedback we get from our surveys of students attending these schools.”

The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges academically or from 1 to 379 in any category. It does, however, provide an eight-category rating that measures how each school performs in areas such as “Quality of Life” and its “Green” initiatives. Pitt received excellent “Quality of Life” and “Green” ratings of 94 and 90, respectively, on a scale from 60 to 99. These ratings are based on results from both student surveys and institutional data.

The Best 379 Colleges also provides 62 ranking lists of the “top 20” colleges in various categories. These rankings are based on The Princeton Review’s survey of 130,000 students (about 343 per campus, on average) attending the colleges. In those student-based category listings, Pitt ranked No. 12 in Best Health Services. 

The Princeton Review explains the basis for each ranking list at http://www.princetonreview.com/college/college-rankings.aspx.

The guide’s general profile on Pitt quotes Pitt students who praised the University’s academics, research, value, and world-class education. Within the publication, students extolled the presence of strong programs across the undergraduate schools at Pitt as well as the plethora of research opportunities available.

The Princeton Review’s school profiles and ranking and rating lists in The Best 379 Colleges are posted at www.princetonreview.com.

The Princeton Review is an education-services company known for its test-prep courses, tutoring, books, and other student resources. Headquartered in Framingham, Mass., the company is not affiliated with Princeton University.