Press Release

August 5, 2014 | By Cole Hatcher

The Princeton Review Recognizes Ohio Wesleyan Among Nation’s Best

DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University is featured on three lists in The Princeton Review’s newest guidebook, “The Best 379 Colleges: 2015 Edition.” In the book, released Aug. 5, Ohio Wesleyan is recognized as one of the nation’s best overall universities as well as one of the “Best Midwestern” and leading “Green” colleges.

For The Princeton Review listing, Ohio Wesleyan students told surveyors:

Ohio Wesleyan is “an outstanding, small, liberal arts college” that manages to cultivate a “welcoming and diverse” community. With “fantastic scholarships,” a “beautiful” campus, and academic “flexibility.” “Professors have amazing dedication to their students. They have office hours daily, respond to emails frequently, answer questions whenever available, and are active in all aspects of their students’ lives.” “OWU is a place where students can experience the opportunities of a larger school with the personality and personal attention of a smaller school.”

OWU students also noted the university’s “emphasis on having an international experience,” fostered through the “large percentage of international students, OWU’s travel-learning courses, and studying abroad.” The international emphasis is part of Ohio Wesleyan’s OWU Connection curricular initiative, designed to provide the academic, professional, and global connections needed for lifelong success.

In addition to The Princeton Review guidebook, Ohio Wesleyan also is featured in the new Forbes Magazine ranking of “America’s Top Colleges” and “The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015,” both released in July.

The Princeton Review surveyed 130,000 college students across the country about their educational and campus life experiences for its new book. It does not rank the 379 featured colleges and universities.

In discussing how The Princeton Review guidebook is compiled, author Rob Franek told Amazon.com editors:

“Three factors are involved: academics, student survey data, and balance. First, a ‘best’ school must offer an outstanding undergraduate education. Our academic evaluations are based on our own visit to the schools … plus data we get from the schools on their program offerings, majors, faculty, and admitted students. We also consider recommendations from our extraordinarily informed National College Counselor Advisory Board.

“Second,” Franek said, “we weigh what students tell us about their schools in our survey. Third, we maintain a balanced representation of colleges in the book by region, size, character, and type. Only about 15 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges make it into our book, and we add ‒ and drop ‒ schools from it every year.”

Learn more about The Princeton Review list, including methodology, www.princetonreview.com. Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan, including academic opportunities and enrollment information, at https://www.owu.edu.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, minors, and concentrations, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.