SHU Among Best 379 Colleges Says Princeton Review

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sacred Heart University is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features SHU in the 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 U.S. are profiled in the book, which is The Princeton Review's flagship college guide. It includes detailed profiles of the colleges with rating scores for all schools in eight categories, plus ranking lists of top 20 schools in 62 categories based on The Princeton Review's surveys of 130,000 students attending the colleges.

"Sacred Heart University offers outstanding academics, which is the chief reason we selected it for the book. We base our choices primarily on data we obtain in our annual surveys of administrators at these schools and at hundreds of other colleges," said Rob Franek, Princeton Review's senior vice president/publisher and author of The Best 379 Colleges. "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. We also work to maintain a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character."

"We are pleased to be recognized by the Princeton Review as one of the top 379 schools. It is especially gratifying because some of the criteria for our ranking came from our students," said SHU Provost Laura Niesen de Abruna.

Citing responses from students, the guide indicates, The Catholic intellectual traditions at SHU are about "educating the entire individual, be it academically, spiritually or through important experiences" such as studying abroad and exclusive internship opportunities. The tight-knit community is a main reason that students seek SHU out, not to mention the benefits of more than 30 Division I athletic programs, country-leading volunteer programs and a gorgeous campus. "When I toured there, I fell in love right away," said a junior majoring in criminal justice.

The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges academically or from 1 to 379 in any category.

When addressing life on campus, the guide notes the University's tight-knit community. Professors "engage the class on a regular basis" and "provide useful examples that relate to the subject matter." They are "for the most part, very enthusiastic, approachable, smart and cool" and "usually willing to give extra help or guid­ance." There are no huge lecture halls at SHU, which "makes every class have so much more opportunity for actual education."

According to one student, Sacred Heart is a "door holding" school; "it may seem silly but it is nice to know that someone is always willing to help you out."

SHU's listing in the Princeton Review guide points out a highlight in the admissions process at the University. "Admissions officers at Sacred Heart take the time to consider each applicant on his or her own merits. There's no formula crunching here; applicants have ample opportunity to make the case why they belong here on their applications."