SUNY Oswego again among Princeton Review's 'Best Regional Colleges'

The Princeton Review once again has named SUNY Oswego to its list of the 225 Best Regional Colleges-Northeast, a distinction the college has earned every year since the educational services firm started regional listings in 2003.

Based on school-supplied data and on the results of surveys of more than 138,000 students at colleges and universities nationwide, the Princeton Review publishes a wide variety of "Best Colleges" information and student comments about each school's academics, administration, life at their college, their fellow students and themselves.

Those surveyed at SUNY Oswego commended the college for professors who are "knowledgeable about their subject and excited to be in Oswego" and for having "a lot of opportunities to work with professors on research and other projects outside of the classroom to help build real-world experience," according to the profile.

Respondents praised many aspects of the college, particularly its School of Education and School of Business, along with its study-abroad and honors programs.

With nearly 600 total faculty, the college offers a 17:1 students-to-faculty ratio and many classes of 20 students or less, the report notes.

Strong community service programs and sustainability efforts also help support Oswego's rating as a top Northeastern college, the Princeton Review reported.

With careers in mind, students at SUNY Oswego can tap the award-winning Office of Career Services, internships, cooperative-education opportunities, alumni services and a vast alumni network now totaling more than 85,000 existing graduates. Among the most well known are Al Roker of NBC's "Today" show, ESPN anchors Linda Cohn and Steve Levy, author Alice McDermott, and Robert Moritz, global chairman of PwC, formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Lake Ontario borders the campus to the north. With that as a backdrop, bonfires and beach blankets attract SUNY Oswego students in fall and spring, students said. Yet the Princeton Review profile also beckoned winter sports enthusiasts, noting that the college receives plenty of snow, has one of the best ice rinks -- at Marano Campus Center -- and a hockey team that won the 2007 national championship in the NCAA's Division III. There also are about 200 clubs and other student organizations and 13 residential living options, some of them themed.

The Princeton Review, which is not affiliated with Princeton University, scores schools on its "Best Colleges: Region by Region" lists in six categories: academics, admissions selectivity, financial aid, fire safety, quality of life and focus on sustainability. The company surveys administrators of each school to obtain data for the ratings. Schools on the regional lists appear in alphabetical order, unranked.

SUNY Oswego enrolls about 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students in its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Education, School of Business and School of Communication, Media and the Arts. The college offers more than 110 programs of study, as well as graduate degree and certificate programs.

For more information about SUNY Oswego, an application or to schedule a tour, visit oswego.edu/admissions.