J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Library Makes Top 10 List

(New Orleans) -- Loyola University offers students an outstanding undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The New York-based education services company features the college in the new 2007 edition of its annual book, The Best 361 Colleges (Random House / Princeton Review, August 22, 2006, $21.95). Only about 15% of the four-year colleges in America and two Canadian colleges are in the book. It has two-page profiles of the schools and student survey-based ranking lists of top 20 colleges in more than 60 categories.

Loyola’s J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Library has ranked 10^th in the “Best College Library” category. Topping the list of “Best College Library” is Harvard. The Monroe Library’s ranking among the top 10 college libraries in the country is a testimony to excellence of its staff and faculty who are committed to customer service and providing the most up-to-date technology and resources to its users. “It's great for us to be recognized in the rankings for our library”, says Deborah Stieffel, dean of admissions and enrollment management. “Harvard ranks at the top of that list, which makes it a great achievement.”

In a "Survey Says. . ." sidebar in the book's profile on Loyola University New Orleans, The Princeton Review lists topics that Loyola students it surveyed for the book were in most agreement about. The list includes: "Small Classes," "Great Computer Facilities," and "Great Library."

Princeton Review's Vice President of Publishing Robert Franek says, "We chose schools for this book primarily for their outstanding academics. We evaluated them based on institutional data we collect about the schools, feedback from students attending them, and our visits to schools over the years. We also consider the opinions of independent college counselors, students and parents we hear from and survey year-long. Finally, we work to have a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character."

In its profile on Loyola University, The Princeton Review quotes extensively from Loyola students surveyed for the book. Among their candid comments on the college: Loyola is “a place of great diversity that allows students to gain knowledge in all areas of education as well as in matters of the world.”

The ranking lists in the 2007 edition of The Best 361 Colleges are based on The Princeton Review's survey of 115,000 students (about 300 per campus on average) attending the 361 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, interest in sports and other aspects of campus life. The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in the book 1 to 361 in any single category.

The Best 361 Colleges is one of more than 200 Princeton Review books published by Random House. For more information please contact the Loyola University Office of Public Affairs at (504) 861-5888 or for Princeton Review Books contact Jeanne Krier at (212) 539-1350. To review the The Princeton Review book's annual ranking lists, visit its website at http://www.PrincetonReview.com

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