Princeton Review Names Centenary One of "The Best 371 Colleges" in 2010 Edition

The Best 371 Colleges

SHREVEPORT, La.—Centenary College is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education and one of the "best" Southeastern colleges according to The Princeton Review, the New York-based education services company known for its test-prep courses. The College is featured in the just-published 2010 edition of its annual book, "The Best 371 Colleges."

Centenary is one of the colleges designated as one of the best colleges in North America based on its outstanding academics and the opportunities provided to students. Only about 15 percent of America's 2,500 four-year colleges and two Canadian colleges are listed in the book.

In the Centenary profile, the guide's editors describe the College as a small school, with only a handful of elite undergraduate institutions being smaller. That said, however, the editor's go on to say that smallness has its virtues. The small size of the student body gives students the opportunity to receive individual attention in class and be involved in many organizations, and hold leadership positions outside of class. It also fosters "a community atmosphere" in which "professors really care about you emotionally and academically," along with providing "a lot of one-on-one help and projects."

According to the profile, pre-medical sciences are said to be excellent with nearly 20 percent of all students majoring in life sciences, as are business studies, music, and communications. Academics are "extremely rigorous and thorough," so much so that "no one graduates without expanding their knowledge base." As at many small schools, "the professors are absolutely wonderful. They're engaging, knowledgeable, and really care about what they're teaching and about their students."

"We chose Centenary College and the other terrific schools we recommend as our 'regional best' colleges primarily for their excellent academic programs," said Robert Franek, Princeton Review's Vice President of Publishing. "We also work to have our roster of 'regional best' colleges feature a range of institutions by size, selectivity, character and locale. We choose the schools based on institutional data we collect from several hundred schools in each region, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of independent and high school-based college advisors whose recommendations we invite. We also take into account what each school's customers — their students — report to us about their campus experiences at them on our 80-question student survey."

The 141 colleges The Princeton Review chose for this year's "Best in the Southeastern" designations are located in twelve states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Princeton Review also designated 217 colleges in the Northeast, 123 in the West, and 158 in the Midwest as best in their locales on the company's 2010 Best Colleges: Region by Region section on its Web site. The 639 colleges named "regional best(s)" represent only about 25% (one out of four) of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges.

The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in its 2010 Best Colleges Region by Region Web site section. The Princeton Review survey for this project asks students to rate their own schools on several issues — from the accessibility of their professors to quality of the campus food — and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life.

The Princeton Review is known for its tutoring and classroom test preparation courses, books, and college and graduate school admission services. Its corporate headquarters is in Framingham, Mass., and editorial offices are in New York City. It is not affiliated with Princeton University and it is not a magazine.

READ the complete review on Centenary College.

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and is regularly rated as one of the top colleges in the South. In 2008 Centenary College celebrated 100 years in Shreveport and Bossier City.