But industry competitor Robert Morse, Director of Data Research for US News and World Report, takes issue with Princeton Review’s survey.
“Princeton Review is trying to get at the buzz factor of what the most popular place is to go,” he said.
Both Franek and Morse agreed, however, that rankings help to guide college applicants.
“I think they provide a service to students and parents, assuming that they are intelligent enough to digest the data and accept it for what it is,” Morse said. “This is one tool in the admissions process.”
Franek suggested that students use the rankings to supplement, not replace, their own college searches.
“It’s not my intention that one should cross out any schools not in the top ten,” he said.
The survey is available on the Princeton Review website and in the Princeton Review book “Best 357 Colleges: 2005 Edition.”