Washington College Named to Princeton Review's Top Northeastern Colleges 2006

Chestertown, MD, August 25, 2005 — Washington College has been chosen as one of 224 select Northeastern colleges and universities profiled in The Princeton Review's new 2006 edition of The Best Northeastern Colleges, now available in bookstores nationwide. The Princeton Review cites "individualized attention" and a "well-respected creative writing program" as two of Washington College's major draws for today's college-bound students.

"The schools in this book all have excellent academic programs," said Robert Franek, Vice President of Publishing for The Princeton Review. "We chose them from several hundred Northeastern schools we considered based on institutional data we collect about the schools, our surveys of students at them, and our visits to schools over the years."

The Best Northeastern Colleges covers select institutions in the District of Columbia and eleven states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. For this edition, The Princeton Review surveyed 53,000 students at the 224 schools in the book. Students were asked to rate their schools on several matters from the teaching ability of their professors to the campus food. Candid comments drawn from the student surveys lace the book's narrative profiles for each of the colleges.

Washington College students surveyed by The Princeton Review emphasized the College's focus on maintaining a small student/faculty ratio (12/1), teaching excellence and close sense of community with comments such as: "the professors are amazing; there is plenty of opportunity to meet with them and to further discuss any issues in class. They are wonderful at helping students advance their careers in their chosen fields." Another student applauded Washington College's "great psych program and excellent record of placement into medical schools," while another remarked: "Since WAC is a liberal arts college, there is an easy mix of different types of students."

"We are very proud to be included in this guide," said Washington College President Baird Tipson. "Fostering an intimate learning environment in which professors are more than just teachers, but are mentors to our students, is a deeply held and abiding value of Washington College. We are glad to be recognized for it."