Niagara University ranked among “Best in the Northeast”

Niagara University is again ranked as one of the best colleges in the Northeast, according to the nationally known education services company, The Princeton Review. It is one of 222 institutions The Princeton Review recommends in its “Best in the Northeast” section of its website feature, “2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region,” that posted Aug. 20, 2012, on PrincetonReview.com.

“This recognition by The Princeton Review acknowledges Niagara University’s outstanding faculty, staff and administrators, and the excellence of our academic programs,” said the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., NU president. “We take particular pride in this honor, knowing that student voices and campus visits are woven into the assessments. Therefore, this recognition reinforces that our students are very pleased with the high quality of education that they are receiving at Niagara University.”

Niagara joins SUNY Buffalo as the only colleges from the Buffalo-Niagara region to appear on the list.

“We’re pleased to recommend Niagara University to users of our site as one of the best schools to earn their undergrad degree,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior VP/publisher. “We chose it and the other terrific institutions we name as ‘regional best’ colleges mainly for their excellent academic programs. From several hundred schools in each region, we winnowed our list based on institutional data we collected directly from the schools, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of our staff, plus college counselors and advisors whose recommendations we invite. We also take into account what students at the schools reported to us about their campus experiences at them on our 80-question student survey for this project. Only schools that permit us to independently survey their students are eligible to be considered for our regional ‘best’ lists.”

The 222 colleges chosen for its “Best in the Northeast” list are located in 11 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, and the District of Columbia. The Princeton Review also designated 153 colleges in the Midwest, 122 in the West, and 136 in the Southeast as best in their locales on the company’s “2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region” lists. Collectively, the 633 colleges named “regional best(s)” constitute about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges.

For this project, The Princeton Review asks students attending the schools to rate their own schools on several issues – from the accessibility of their professors to quality of the campus food – and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students and campus life.  Comments from surveyed students are quoted in the school profiles on The Princeton Review site.

Student comments in the profile on Niagara University include:

“(Niagara offers its students) a friendly learning community (and an education that) is very focused on service and the Vincentian tradition.”

“There are also many resources available to us and various classes that are truly staples to helping us with real world situations within our careers.”

“Their education program puts you in the classroom in your first year!”

“(Professors are) fantastic and very approachable and knowledgeable.”

“There is so much that the school offers: concerts, game nights, movie nights, ice skating, fitness programs.”

“Hiking and running along the gorge right across the street is an absolute pleasure throughout the seasons.”

“The typical student owns 10-plus purple shirts, is very friendly to everyone, [and] likes to be involved in any/every way possible.”

The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its test-prep courses, tutoring, books and other student resources. Headquartered in Framingham, Mass., the company is not affiliated with Princeton University.