Published: August 05, 2008 06:24 pm            

Indiana State among ‘Best in the Midwest’ again

Princeton Review taps ISU in region spanning from Dakotas to Kansas and east through Ohio

TERRE HAUTE — The Princeton Review has once again named Indiana State University as one of the best colleges in a 12-state region.

In its online feature “2009 Best Colleges: Region by Region,” the New York City-based education services company selected Indiana State as one of 159 institutions it recommends as among the “Best in the Midwest,” a region the company defines as extending from the Dakotas south to Kansas and east through Ohio.

The selections are based on data submitted by colleges and universities and surveys of students and high school advisors.

“This marks the fifth straight year Indiana State has been named among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest. This ongoing recognition is a direct reflection on the work that our outstanding faculty and staff are doing to give students a unique and meaningful educational experience,” said ISU President Daniel Bradley.

Students responding to Princeton Review surveys consistently rate their Indiana State professors as knowledgeable in their fields and comment that they feel closer to their professors than they would at a larger school and that faculty members are “exceptional, down-to-earth and approachable.” Students stated ISU helps them “to grow personally, intellectually and socially.”

“ISU is big on diversity,” students said, adding that the presence of significant numbers of non-traditional students “just seem to complement all of the other students.”

Indiana State’s “small, cozy campus” offers “a mostly full-fledged college experience,” students said, with many involved in campus organizations and student groups.

The Princeton Review finds Indiana State “offers a good education at a reasonable cost,” with about 60 percent of undergraduates receiving needs-based financial aid.

“We commend all of the schools we name this year as our “regional best” colleges, primarily for their excellent academic programs. We selected them based on institutional data we collected from several hundred schools in each region, our visits to schools over the years and the opinions of independent and high school-based college advisors whose recommendations we invite,” said Robert Franek, vice president of publishing for Princeton Review, which is not affiliated with Princeton University.

“We also take into account what each school’s customers — their students — report to us about their campus experiences at their schools on our 80-question student survey. Finally, we work to have our annual roster of “regional best” colleges present a range of institutions in each region that varies by size, selectivity, character and locale,” Franek said.

The Best in the Midwest selection is not the only recognition for Indiana State by The Princeton Review. The also named the master’s of business administration program in the ISU College of Business as among the best in the nation for both 2007 and 2008.

        

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