by Leslie Berger
野狼社区 University is one of the best colleges in the West according to The Princeton Review (). The well-known education services company lists OCU among its 鈥淏est in the West鈥� recommended schools in its 2016 Best Colleges: Region by Region website feature that posted earlier this month.
鈥淲e are pleased to be recognized again by The Princeton Review,鈥� said OCU President Robert Henry. 鈥淚nclusion on this list reflects 野狼社区 University鈥檚 commitment to providing high quality education and academic rigor.鈥�
The feature is accessible at . Only 125 colleges in 15 Western states made the 鈥淏est in the West鈥� list for 2016. Collectively, the 649 colleges on The Princeton Review's 鈥渞egional best鈥� lists constitute about 25 percent of the nation鈥檚 2,500 four-year colleges.
In its website profile on OCU, The Princeton Review stated that students describe the college as a 鈥渃lose-knit community鈥� and provides them with the resources to 鈥渁ccomplish as much as possible.鈥�
鈥淯ndergrads love OCU鈥檚 size which translates to, 鈥榖ig enough to have exciting things happen all the time but small enough so you see people you know and don鈥檛 feel overwhelmed,鈥欌�� the review added.
鈥淲e chose OCUand the other outstanding institutions on this list primarily for their excellent academics,鈥� said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review鈥檚 senior vice president of publishing. 鈥淲e also gave careful consideration to what students enrolled at the schools reported to us about their campus experiences on our student survey for this project. We designed our 80-question survey to include questions that prospective applicants might ask on a campus visit. Only schools that permit us independently to survey their students are eligible to be considered for our regional 鈥榖est鈥� lists, and only schools at which we see a strong level of satisfaction among their enrolled students 鈥� whom we consider their customers 鈥� make it to our final slate of regional 鈥榖est鈥� college selections.鈥�
The Princeton Review editors made their selections based on data the company collected from its survey of administrators at several hundred colleges in each region, as well as its staff visits to schools over the years, and the perspectives of college counselors and advisors whose opinions the company solicits.
The Princeton Review survey asks students to rate their colleges on several issues 鈥� from the accessibility of their professors to the quality of their science lab facilities 鈥� and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life. Comments from surveyed students are quoted in the school profiles on The Princeton Review site.
Some student comments in the OCU profile included 鈥渆nthusiastic,鈥� 鈥渞idiculously intelligent鈥� and 鈥渋ncredibly personable鈥� professors. One impressed senior stated: 鈥淭hey are motivating and expect the best out of their students. After we graduate I know we will be supported and helped in any way to find a career.鈥�
The Princeton Review also scores the schools on its鈥淏est Colleges: Region by Region鈥� lists in six categories. The scores 鈥� which are ratings on a scale of 60 to 99 鈥� appear on the school profiles. They are tallied primarily from institutional data the company obtained from the colleges. Some also factor in student survey data. OCU had strong ratings for having accessible professors [93] and interesting professors [88].
The 125 colleges that The Princeton Review chose for its 鈥淏est in the West鈥� 2016 list are located in fifteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Princeton Review also designated 225 colleges in the Northeast, 159 in the Midwest, and 140 in the Southeast as best in their locales on the company鈥檚 鈥�2016 Best Colleges: Region by Region鈥� lists.
The Princeton Review does not rank the 649 colleges, either overall, by region, or in various categories.
The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its tutoring, test-prep courses, books, and other student resources. The company is not affiliated with Princeton University.
