<p>Just bought my copy of the new 2006 edition of the Princeton Review Best Colleges. They're up to 361 colleges this year - new ones covered include Hillsdale, Lynchburg, Mills, Berea, Monmouth U, Saint Michael's College, Transylvania, the U of Central Florida and the U of South Florida. But, inexplicably, Occidental has been dropped completely. I suppose they only include schools that turn in student surveys and that's probably what's behind Occidental being dropped. I'm wondering how this will affect Oxy's status as a "hot college."</p>
<p>UC Irvine is also missing...</p>
<p>I was wondering. I saw that PR stated the new book had 11 new colleges, but since the old book was "Best 357" the math wasn't working. Any idea what the others were? Neither Occidental or UC Irvine makes any sense -- east coast bias, maybe? I take the "Best" in their title with a grain of salt anyway. Their "rankings" are for the most part tongue in cheek. I do like the narratives, though -- not as dry as other books.</p>
<p>Transylvania University, eh? It's about time. OK, a virtual drink in the Sinner's Cafe for the first person to name its most famous alumnus. Hint: there's an affirmative action connection. No vampire jokes allowed.</p>
<p>Florida A&M, Tuskegee, and Mary Washington were also cut from the 2006 edition.</p>
<p>According to the website Mary Washington is still on the list. It's now under the "U"s for University of Mary Washington, rather than Mary Washington College.</p>
<p>Driver, I have no idea -- I just know that when I suggested the S look at Transylvania he looked at me as if I had lost my mind. They probably have cool sweatshirts, though.</p>
<p>I have to admit that my daughter was too shallow to consider good ol' Trans U either. She has made other decisions about schools for equally flimsy reasons. Two schools in a small town, with one having substantially more high stat kids-"Dad, I'll admit it. I'm shallow. I'm not going to the 'dumb kid' school in a two school town.".For a kid usually not interested in such things, that one still perplexes me a little.</p>
<p>Whoops, I was wrong. Mary Washington is still in there - just now listed as "University of Mary Washington" whereas in past issues it was Mary Washington College.</p>
<p>I have to admit, I thought about applying to Translyvania U just for fun way back when. I thought the name was really cool. :)</p>
<p>Iderochi, Our posts crossed paths. :)</p>
<p>John Marshall Harlan--"the great dissenter"--and one of the longest serving US Supreme Court Justices was a law student at Transylvania. He was most famous for his lone dissent in the Plessy v. Ferguson "Seperate but Equal" case (1896), where he said: "Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens." He was a really interesting person, and had a grandson of the same name who also served on the USSC.</p>
<p>And, for those interested, he went to Centre for his undergraduate studies -- bonus points, who was Centre's other Supreme Court justice? Harlan was somewhat unusual in that at that time it was rare for attorneys to have a post-bacc. education. Most attorneys simply apprenticed. And his Plessy dissent completed a remarkable political turnaround from a slaveholding defender of slavery.</p>
<p>A slaveholder who fought in the Union Army, no less!</p>
<p>Occidental: 1,848 students, 1260 Avg SAT, 11:1 student/faculty ratio
Lynchburg: 1,933 students, 1032 Avg SAT, 13:1 student/faculty ratio</p>
<p>Somebody help me out here. Why are highly qualified students wasting their time at a sub-361 school like Oxy when they could be developing their immense talents at a "Best 361" college like Lynchburg?</p>
<p>Build it and they will come; put all those 1260's at Lynchburg and you have a new Oxy. Cheaper and less smog too.</p>
<p>You don't have to dump on Lynchburg to make your point, which I think everyone here agrees with. Occidental is an outstanding school that by anybody's definition should be on any list of great schools. Lynchburg is also a very solid school that attracts a different type of student and has an OUTSTANDING reputation for developing them.</p>
<p>I don't think NewHope was dumping on Lynchburg per se --- just pointing out that Oxy being dropped may indeed influence some kids to think that it's no longer worth considering. I (sadly) agree. I've seen too many kids think that "being in the book" is the equivalent to a stamp of approval when in reality, there are plenty of great schools that haven't made the book, or have been deleted for one reason or another.</p>
<p>Pomona's students aren't happy anymore-they were first for many years and now aren't on the list. They seemed pretty happy this weekend when I was there though!</p>
<p>I think Oxy either requested not to be included or refused to give PR access to survey their students and were left out in retribution. I think this because they were also not included in PR's "Best in the West" book of colleges, which includes many less selective schools with less national reputations.</p>
<p>BY the way, the same may be true of UC Irvine, as they are also not in the "Best of the West"--which does include 7 UC campuses and lots of Cal States.<br>
As for Pomona, I happen to know that the editor-in-chief of their student newspaper last year was a conservative and a republican--bred lots of discontent during an election year. (Also set all kinds of records for # of letters to the editor--I hope all those conservatives who complain about the lack of political diversity at LACs were paying attention.)</p>
<p>iderochi, I know!I know! But that would be too easy, huh? Make somebody else guess. Mischievious Clue:he still attends all of the ball games.</p>