Princeton Review's "College Hopes & Worries" Survey Reports Top 10 "Dream Colleges" of Student Applicants & Parents

Read the Full Report on the Survey

New York University #1 Among Students
Princeton #1 Among Parents

NEW YORK, Mar. 21, 2006 — Some call it "the other March madness." Now through April, it's nail-biting season as college admission letters land in family mailboxes and students decide which school they'll attend. According to a Princeton Review survey of 3,890 college applicants and 1,012 parents of applicants, the "dream college" students most wish they could attend is New York University, while 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 submitted online or on paper from 4,902 students and parents nationwide from August 2005 through February 2006. The survey is published in The Princeton Review's annual book, "Best 361 Colleges," and runs on its site, www.PrincetonReview.com, at which a complete report on the findings is now posted.

Top 10 Dream Colleges
In answer tallies on the survey's only fill-in-the-blank question, "What 'dream college' would you most like to attend (or see your child attend) were prospects of acceptance or cost not issues?," the schools students most named were 1-New York Univ., 2-Harvard Univ., 3-Princeton Univ., 4-Stanford Univ., 5-Yale Univ., 6-Brown Univ., 7-Columbia Univ., 8-Duke Univ., 9-Cornell Univ., and 10-Univ. of California Los Angeles. The schools parents most named were: 1-Princeton Univ., 2-Stanford Univ., 3-Harvard Univ., 4-Univ. of Notre Dame, 5-Duke Univ., 6-Yale Univ., 7-Boston College, 8-Brown Univ., 9-Cornell Univ., 10-Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Other findings
Among respondents overall (students and parents combined), 59% reported high levels of stress about the college application process and 71% expect the cost of their degree to exceed $50,000. In deciding which college they will attend, 55% say they'll pick the school that's the best overall fit. Only 9% say they'll choose the college with the best academic reputation. As to the ideal distance from home respondents would like their college to be, the plurality, 45%, selected the answer choice "100 to 500 miles."

Because today is the publication date of a new book, Parents' Guide to College Life (Random House, $13.95 paperback) by Princeton Review's Communications Director Robin Raskin, this year's survey asked respondents what aspect of college life they (or their child) expected to find most challenging. Of four answer choices, 41% of respondents overall chose "Money matters: Spending wisely and avoiding debt," 28% said "Academics: Keeping up with coursework," 17% chose "Dorm Life: Living with a roommate," and 14% said "Social Scene: Dealing with drinking, drugs, and dating."

The Princeton Review is known for its test-prep courses, college and grad school admission services, K-12 education programs and over 200 books. It is not affiliated with Princeton University or ETS.

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Media /Press Contacts:
Jeanne Krier, Princeton Review Books, (212) 539-1350
Harriet Brand, The Princeton Review, (212) 874-8282 ext. 1091, harrietb@review.com
Robin Raskin, The Princeton Review, (212) 874-8282 ext. 1647, robinr@review.com