"We picked the 384 best colleges for our book primarily for their outstanding academics," said Robert Franek, Princeton Review's editor-in-chief. "However, we know applicants need far more than an academic rating or ranking to find the college that will be best for them. We created our 62 ranking lists to help narrow that search. They are based entirely on data we gather beyond academics that gives insight into what the schools' enrolled students say about their professors, administrators, school services, campus culture and student life. In the end, it's all about the fit.”

The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges from 1 to 384 in any category. Instead, rankings are based on surveys of 138,000 students at 384 top colleges, which include a wide representation by region, size, selectivity and character. Published annually since 1992, the book has detailed profiles of the colleges with rating scores in eight categories as well as ranking lists of top 20 schools in 62 categories.