Princeton Review - The Best 380 Colleges, 2016 Edition: Everything You Need to Make the Right College Choice

Editorial
Robert Franek, SVP, Publisher
David Soto, Director of Content Development
Kristen OToole, Editorial Director
Pia Aliperti, Editor
Stephen Koch, Survey Manager

Random House Publishing Team
Tom Russell, Publisher
Alison Stoltzfus, Publishing Manager
Ellen L. Reed, Production Manager
Melinda Ackell, Managing Editor
Kristin Lindner, Production Supervisor
Andrea Lau, Designer

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2015 by TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC
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Cover art Allen Creative / Steve Allen / Alamy

Published in the United States by Penguin Random House, LLC, New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., Toronto.

All rankings, ratings, and listings are intellectual property of The Princeton Review. No rankings, ratings, listings, or other proprietary information in this book may be repurposed, abridged, excerpted, combined with other data, or altered for reproduction in any way without express permission of The Princeton Review.

The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.

eBook ISBN9781101881590
Trade Paperback ISBN9780804126304

Production: Best Content Solutions, LLC
Production Editor: Melissa Duclos-Yourdon

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Each year we assemble an awesomely talented group of colleagues who work together to produce our updated college profiles, this year is no exception. Everyone involved in this effortauthors, editors, data managers, production specialists, and designersgoes above and beyond to make The Best 380 Colleges an exceptional student resource guide. This new edition gives prospective college students what they really want: The most honest, accessible, and pertinent information about the colleges they are considering attending.

My sincere thanks go to everybody who contributed to this tremendous project. A special thank you goes to our authors, Jen Adams, Sasha Fletcher, Laura Goode, Andrea Kornstein, and Lincoln Michel, for their dedication in poring through tens of thousands of surveys to produce the campus culture narratives of each school we profiled. Very special thanks goes to Kristen OToole and Pia Aliperti for their editorial commitment and vision, and our Student Survey Manager, Stephen Koch, who continues to work in partnership with school administrators and students alike. My continued thanks go to our data guru, David Soto, for his successful efforts in collecting and accurately representing the statistical data that appear with each college profile. The enormousness of this project and its deadline constraints could not have been realized without the calm presence of Scott Harris of Best Content Solutions and production editor Melissa Duclos-Yourdontheir dedication, focus, and attention to detail continue to impress and remind me of what a pleasure it is to work on this project each year. Special thanks also go to Jeanne Krier, our Random House publicist, for the dedicated work she has done on this book and the overall series since its inception. Jeanne continues to be my trusted colleague, media advisor, and friend. I would also like to make special mention of Tom Russell and Alison Stoltzfus, our Random House publishing team, for their continuous investment and faith in our ideas. Last, I thank my Princeton Review Partner Team, Mandy Ginsberg, Sharon Van Wyck, Jennifer Kohn, Casey Cornelius, Vincent Jungels, Shar Dubey, and Clark Rothrock, for their confidence in me and my content team and for their commitment to providing students the resources they need to succeed academically and find the colleges that fit them best.

Robert Franek
Senior VPPublisher
Lead AuthorThe Best 380 Colleges

DOONESBURY 1999 G.B. Trudeau. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. All rights reserved.

C ONTENTS

List of Schools (AZ)

PART I: INTRODUCTION

Getting into Selective Colleges: A Guide for High School Students

What weve put together in this book is a guide to the nations 380 most academically outstanding institutions so that you can be informed about the unique opportunities these schools offer and what its really like to be a student at them. As selective as youll be about choosing the right college for you, know that many of the colleges we profile will be selective in choosing the students right for them. While some of the schools youll read about here admit upwards of eighty percent of their applicants, the majority have many more applicants than they have seats to fill, and some admit less than ten percent of the students who apply. That meansdepending on which colleges youre pinning your hopes on attendingyou are likely going to have to put quite a bit of effort into getting in. High grades in challenging courses are just the beginning!

If youre like most of the two million high school students who apply to college each year, youre probably wondering what college admissions officers are really looking for in an applicant. What exactly does it take to get into college? What can I do to make my application stand out? Once I get accepted, how do I know which college is best for me?

In order to get you started on the road to a successful application, were going to give you a few goals, suggestions, and tips for checkpoints along the way. This brief primer will help you know what you should be doing year by year in high school to prepare yourself for admission to your best college.

6 STEPS TO GETTING INTO COLLEGE

Sure, high school is supposed to be fun, but putting some effort into your schoolwork and extracurricular experiences can make applying to your choice colleges a lot less stressful. Though it might sound like boring advice, the following steps are extremely important!

1. Work hard for good grades.
2. Enroll in challenging courses.
3. Spend time preparing for the ACT or SAT and SAT Subject Tests.
4. Polish your writing skills.
5. Establish relationships with teachers and advisors who can write strong letters of recommendation for you.
6. Get involved in some activities, community service, or work experiences that will enable you to show your values, talents, and skills.

For more information on how you can make the most of your high school years and turn those experiences into a successful college application, visit PrincetonReview.com to check out our admissions books, test prep options, and college counseling services.

Getting a good start is the best way to get a strong finish! You dont want to have to play catch-up during your junior and senior years when youre supposed to be focusing on bigger things. During your freshman year, make sure you concentrate on your studies and work hard to earn good grades. Get to know your teachers and ask for their help if you are having trouble in a subjectas well as if you just really enjoy it and want to learn more. Theyll most certainly want to help you do your best. If there is an honor roll at your school, make it a goal to get on it. And if your grades are so good that you qualify for membership in the National Honor Society, pat yourself on the back and dont think twice about accepting the invitation to join. Make it a point to meet your guidance counselor so you can begin pinpointing colleges you may be interested in and studying for the courses and admission tests they require. The great thing about freshman year is that you have plenty of time to focus on projects that can make your admissions applications during your senior year look the best they can. Make sure you take hold of that opportunity!