Gonzaga University

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Princeton Review Best 366 Colleges, 2008 edition

Gonzaga University is among the nation's 366 best colleges for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The New York City-based education services company includes GU in its "Best 366 Colleges," 2008 edition of its annual "best colleges" guide.

Gonzaga is among good company in the publication, which chose only the top 15 percent of all four-year colleges in America, and two in Canada, for inclusion in the book. The 366 schools includes are not ranked in order of excellence, however many are included in lists of the top 20 colleges in more than 60 categories. Gonzaga is ranked No. 9 in the category "Students Pack the Stadiums," and is among the 123 schools named a "Best Western College" by the publication. In the 2007 edition, Gonzaga also earned the same rankings (No. 9 for packing stadiums and as a "Best Western College).

The publication's categorical ratings are based on a scale of 60 to 99. Gonzaga scored 84 in its academic rating; 90 on its admissions selectivity rating; 82 in its financial aid rating; and 79 on the quality of life rating.

The academic rating is a measure of how hard students work and how much they get back for their efforts.

The admissions selectivity rating measures how competitive admissions are at the school. This rating is determined by several institutionally reported factors, including: the class rank, average standardized test scores, and average high school GPA of entering freshmen; the percentage of students who hail from out-of-state; and the percentage of applicants accepted.

The financial aid rating measures how much financial aid a school awards and how satisfied students are with that aid. This rating is based on school-reported data on the percentage of students who were determined to have need and received aid, the percentage of need met for those students and the percentage of students whose need was fully met.

The quality of life rating is based on how happy students are with their lives outside of the classroom. Factors included students' assessments of their overall happiness; the beauty, safety and location of the campus; the comfort of dorms; the quality of food; the ease of getting around campus and dealing with administrators; the friendliness of fellow students; the interaction of different student types; and the quality of the school's relationship with the local community.

The Princeton Review also posts the book's annual ranking lists on its Web site (www.PrincetonReview.com), which includes frequently asked questions about the book, rankings and the survey. Two additional ratings, which measure students' assessments of their professors, both on a scale of 60-99, are in the "Best 366 Colleges; 2008 Edition." However, these two rating are not listed on PrincetonReview.com.

Rankings for the lists are based solely on student surveys. A school's appearance on these lists indicates a high consensus among its surveyed students about the topic. Rankings for the lists "Best Academics" and "Toughest to Get Into" factor in institutional data. No list is based on the publication's opinion of the schools.

At Gonzaga, the student body "is a different breed. We don't have many of the tough, frat 'I'm gonna beat up the next guy who looks at me' guys. Everything is more laid-back. You can go up to anyone and talk to them and you at least won't get completely blown off, which is a refreshing change," the book quotes a current student as saying. Gonzaga is "a fairly conservative school, and compared to most colleges, most people are open-minded."

The ranking lists in the guidebook are based on The Princeton Review's survey of 120,000 students (about 325 per campus on average) attending the 366 colleges in the book. A college's appearance on these lists is attributable to a high consensus among its surveyed students about the subject. The 80-question survey asked students to rate their schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences at them.

Ranking lists report the top 20 schools in categories that range from best professors, administration and campus food to lists based on student body political leanings, race/class relations, sports interests and other aspects of campus life.

The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in the book 1 to 366 in any single category, nor do the rankings reflect The Princeton Review's opinion of the schools.

The media contact for Princeton Review Books is Jeanne Krier, who can be reached at (212) 539-1350 or via e-mail.