Tougaloo College cited in Princeton Review
by Maha Mohamed, STAFF WRITER
Tougaloo College has distinguished itself as one of the best colleges in the nation, according to a national publication.
Each year, The Princeton Review generates its own college rank, publishing the best 366 colleges, categorizing the best colleges region by region.
Tougaloo is ranked as one of the best colleges in the southeastern region.
Abdul Turay, provost/vice president for academic affairs, said that in the two years he has been at Tougaloo, the college has been named in The Princeton Review.
“This is a sign of a golden standard that Tougaloo College is a quality institution. The spotlight that the review puts Tougaloo in is that the college is able to number one, compete and recruit outstanding students, number two, recruit outstanding faculty and number three, put the college in a position to compete for grants.”
The Princeton Review has established two criteria for determining which colleges were suitable to be noted as the best in their region.
The first criterion is a basic survey. During the entire year, The Princeton Review performs surveys on hundreds of campuses nationwide, which is either done online or on actual college campuses. Students attending the schools complete the surveys, which contain more than 80 questions.
The surveys are divided into five categories:
About Yourself
Your School's Academics/Administration
Students
Life at Your School
After the surveys have been collected the colleges are given a score based on the students’ responses to the questions. The score is determined on how the school is rated in academics, financial aid, quality of life and professor accessibility and interest.
Once the score is calculated, The Princeton Review focuses on their next criterion, which is whether the school has demonstrated superior academic excellence in their respective region.
The Princeton Review’s publications offer potential college students the opportunity to complete an in-depth research of the nation’s top colleges, said Steven Smith, assistant vice president for enrollment management.
“Anytime that the school is recognized in an issue as important as The Princeton Review, it speaks volumes for the school's academic reputation as well the social environment,” Smith said. “I think that very serious students who read or are familiar with The Princeton Review will give Tougaloo a consideration in terms of attending whenever they see that we are ranked in those types of magazines.”
Some students, however, believe there are major issues with the school that still need improvement.
“Tougaloo ‘was’ a school with strong academic reputation when they were producing the state’s top attorneys, teachers, and doctors,” said RoDeidre Ford, 20, a junior psychology major from Vicksburg. “But the school is lacking stable members, meaning faculty. Some courses are not even challenging to most students.”
Jasmine Leftwich, 19, a sophomore social science major from Dallas agreed, “For the amount of money that students pay to attend Tougaloo, we should be living in suites instead of shoe boxes. The classrooms should be a professional, sanitary, and instructional room, instead of a health hazard. The financial aid office as well needs to be more organized.”
Turay also stressed how important it is for students to take the survey.
“It is a very important part of The Princeton Review because the review evaluates the student’s responses,” Turay said. “I hope that students now will take this seriously. Many schools use this ranking to recruit students. Tougaloo needs to use this as a marketing tool to get students as well as funding.”
The Princeton Review takes student surveys online 365 days of the year and students who complete a survey get a chance to win a $5,000 scholarship. Students, alum, and even faculty can complete surveys at princetonreview.com.
Other schools cited were Millsaps College, Mississippi College, Mississippi State University, and the University of Mississippi.
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