The Princeton Review Praises College's Campus In 'The Best 373 Colleges' Guidebook

LAKELAND, Fla. (Aug. 3, 2010) -- Florida Southern College's stunning campus is ninth on The Princeton Review's "Most Beautiful Campus" list in the 2011 edition of its annual college guidebook.

The Princeton Review's "Most Beautiful Campus" list, one of its strongest indicators of quality of life on college campuses, cites FSC's campus as an inspiring place to live and study. In addition to the world's largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright structures, the campus also boasts historic architecture from 1922, when the College moved to Lakeland, as well as contemporary designs by world-renowned architect Robert A.M. Stern.

From formal rose gardens to working citrus groves to environmentally sustainable native plant areas, the 100-acre campus on the shores of Lake Hollingsworth offers a wealth of natural oases and tropical retreats.

In addition, the Princeton Review touts the College's intramural sports programs, ranking FSC No. 20 on a list titled "Everyone Plays Intramural Sports."

The prestigious guide includes only about 15 percent of America's four-year colleges and universities in "The Best 373 Colleges," which is The Princeton Review's flagship annual college guide. Profiles are based largely on institutional data and interviews with students from the featured colleges. The book also includes ranking lists in 62 categories based on The Princeton Review's surveys of students attending the colleges.

In its profile on Florida Southern, The Princeton Review praises the College's strong sense of community, committed and caring professors, and strong academics. The book extensively quotes from FSC students surveyed by The Princeton Review. One student is quoted as saying students can expect a "personalized education" at Florida Southern College, a small school that is "the perfect size for any student that doesn't want to go unnoticed!" In addition, another student said: "FSC is about community. This small school is like a big family where you always have someone to talk to or to help you."

Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's senior vice president of publishing and author of "The Best 373 Colleges, said: "We commend Florida Southern for its outstanding academics, which is the primary criterion for our selection of schools for the book. Our choices are based on institutional data we collect about schools, our visits to schools over the years, feedback we gather from students attending the schools, and the opinions of our staff and our 28-member National College Counselor Advisory Board. We also work to keep a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character."

"The Best 373 Colleges" is the 19th edition of The Princeton Review's annual "best colleges" book. The school profiles and ranking lists in "The Best 371 Colleges" are posted on its Web site (www.PrincetonReview.com), where users can read FAQs about the book, the survey, and the criteria for each of the ratings and rankings.