Read the Full Report on the Survey

Harvard #1 Among Students / Princeton #1 Among Parents
Stanford #2 Among Both

61% of Respondents Report High Levels of Stress About College Applications
84% Say Financial Aid Will Be "Very Necessary"

NEW YORK, March 27, 2008—Some call it "the other March madness." It's nail-biting season now through April as college acceptance/rejection and financial aid letters land in family mailboxes. According to a Princeton Review survey of 8,776 college applicants and 1,612 parents of applicants (10,388 people total), the "dream college" students most wish they could attend is Harvard. Parents most wish their kids were headed to Princeton.

The Princeton Review, a New York-based education services company, has conducted its "College Hopes & Worries Survey" since 2003. Findings this year are based on surveys completed on paper or online September to March by respondents from all 50 states and DC. The 13-question survey ran in The Princeton Review's "Best 366 Colleges" book published August 2007 and on www.PrincetonReview.com from February to March 20.

Top 10 Dream Colleges
For the survey's only fill-in-the-blank question, "What 'dream college' do you wish you could attend (or see your child attend) if acceptance or cost weren't issues?":

The schools students most named were:

1. Harvard
2. Stanford
3. Princeton
4. New York Univ. (previously #1 for 3 consecutive years)
5. Yale
6. Brown
7. Columbia
8. Cornell
9. Univ. of Southern California
10. UCLA

The schools parents most named were:

1. Princeton
2. Stanford
3. Harvard
4. New York Univ.
5. Notre Dame
6. Cornell
7. Duke
8. Yale
9. MIT
10. Brown

Other findings show (among student and parent respondents combined):

• 61% report high levels of stress about college applications


• 71% expect the cost of their degree to exceed $75,000


• 84% say financial aid will be "very necessary"


• Asked what is their biggest worry about applying to college, 37% selected the answer "will get into first-choice college, but won't have sufficient funds/financial aid to attend it": 27% chose "will take on major loan debt for college," 23% chose "won't get into first-choice college," and 13% selected "will attend a college I regret."


• Asked what factor will determine the college they choose to attend, only 9% said they'll pick the one "with the best academics": 11 % said "most affordable" college, 30% said the college "best for (my) career interests," 50% said the school that's "the best overall fit."


• Asked how far from home they'd ideally prefer that college to be, 53% of parents selected the answer "0 to 250 miles," while 66% of students chose answers in ranges over 250 miles.

The survey also polled respondents on how many colleges they were applying to, how they rated the guidance from their school counselors on college and financial aid, and the toughest part of their application experience.

An optional question invited respondents to share advice for next year's applicants. Said one student: "The college application process isn't the worst part. Waiting to hear back is!" The most common tip penned in by students and parents: "Start early." Said one parent: "I wouldn't wish these last few weeks on anyone." A report on the survey findings and a compendium of advice from student respondents and advice from parent respondents is posted at www.PrincetonReview.com.

The Princeton Review -- known for its test-prep courses, college and graduate school admission services, books and education programs -- is not affiliated with Princeton University or ETS and not a magazine.