New College Ranked #2 in Princeton Review’s List of "100 Best Value Colleges for 2009"

New College of Florida has been named the number 2 best value public college or university by The Princeton Review and USA TODAY.  The New York-based education services company, known for its test-prep courses, features the College in its just-published list of “100 Best Value Colleges for 2009.”  The list highlights schools that provide high-quality academics at a reasonable price.

The Princeton Review selected the schools based on surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 public and private college and university campuses. Overall selection criteria included more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs and financial aid. Academic ratings were based on student surveys about such issues as professors’ accessibility and class sizes, as well as institutional reports about student-faculty ratios and percent of classes taught by teaching assistants.

On Thursday, January 9, Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s V.P. of Publishing, appeared on the NBC TODAY Show to announce the rankings.  In an interview with host Meredith Vieira, he referred to New College as “the flagship honors college for the Florida state system, an amazing school….”  To view the clip of the show, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28548647/.

New College President Mike Michalson commented, “New College’s consistently high ranking by The Princeton Review reflects the success of our student-centered academic mission. Moreover, it is a good way to draw attention to the important option New College offers – a public institution with the features of the small private college, including small classes and professors who know you by name.”

The Princeton Review’s Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges

1. University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)
2. New College of Florida (Sarasota, FL)
3. College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA)
4. State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton, NY)
5. Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL)
6. North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
7. University of California – San Diego (San Diego, CA)
8. City University of New York – Hunter College (New York, NY)
9. University of Georgia (Athens, GA)
10. The College of New Jersey (Ewing, NJ)

The annual list, previously published in book form, can now be accessed in a free interactive database at BestValueColleges.usatoday.com.

For more information contact Aimee Chouinard, Media Relations Coordinator, (941) 487-4152 or [email protected].