UNT named one of ‘Best in the West’ by The Princeton Review

From a UNT News Service press release

UNT, the largest and most comprehensive university in North Texas, was named one of the best colleges and universities in the West by Princeton Review, a nationally known education services company.

UNT was one of 120 institutions to be recommended in its 2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region guide. The Best in the West colleges are in 15 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

"This recognition provides a public endorsement of the high-quality education that UNT provides to students in nearly 250 degree programs," says Troy Johnson, vice provost and associate vice president for enrollment management.

UNT students learn in a traditional campus environment rich with opportunities. In labs, classrooms and one-on-one with faculty, UNT students learn how to search for solutions to the world's most challenging problems — from human rights violations to natural disaster impacts.

The regional best colleges were chosen mainly for their excellent academic programs, says Robert Franek, Princeton Review's senior VP of publishing. The list was narrowed based on institutional data collected from the schools, visits to the schools, opinions of Princeton Review staff, and recommendations of counselors and advisors. Students from the schools reported about their campus experiences — from accessibility of professors to quality of campus food — in an 80-question student survey. According to Princeton Review's website, students say UNT is a "wonderfully diverse" school that offers "an affordable education."

The schools are also rated in six categories: academics, admissions selectivity, financial aid, fire safety, quality of life and green.

Princeton Review also designated 218 colleges in the Northeast, 152 in the Midwest, and 133 in the Southeast as best in their locales. Altogether, 623 colleges were named regional bests, making up about 25 percent of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges.

Ellen Rossetti with UNT News Service can be reached at erossetti@unt.edu.

Read other stories in this issue:

• President's Note
• Go "Old School" for Homecoming 2010
• Moving Forward: UNT co-hosts U.S.-Mexico technology summit to spur global partnerships
• Faculty named as fellows
• Faculty earn NSF, foundation funding to support mathematics, science research
• Engineers building robots for NASA's space exploration efforts
• Faculty Focus: David McEntire
• Traditions: McNair Program
• Featured Link: Take video tour of new football stadium under construction
• UNT Alumni Association