Correction appended
As college admission decisions loom near, it seems that parents everywhere are dreaming in orange and black. According to Princeton Review's recently published "College Hopes & Worries Survey," Princeton is parents' number one "dream college."
Robert Franek, a vice president and publisher at Princeton Review, which is not affiliated with the University, attributed the University's popularity to its reputation for excellence.
"Princeton is a wonderful school that certainly has a recognized and respected brand name," he said. "I think people associate Princeton with a great deal of success in college along with continued success."
Stanford and Harvard scored highly among parents as well, coming in second and third place, respectively. Asked the same question, high school students ranked Princeton as their third choice for "dream college," following NYU and Harvard.
The New York-based education services company, which has conducted the survey since 2003, collected responses from 3,890 college applicants and 1,012 parents for a dozen survey questions, including, "What 'dream college' would you most like to attend (or see your child attend)?"
Whether the survey predicts trends in college admissions remains an open question, however. Marilyn Brookwood, a school counselor at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, N.Y., said she has not noticed any more interest in Princeton over other schools.
"I've done probably about 50 college meetings in the past six weeks, and there have been no such trends," Brookwood said.
Terry Kung, a college counselor at the Oakwood School in California, agreed that these sorts of surveys are too general to reflect accurately such a personal process as college admissions.
"Princeton's a wonderful school, but it's not a perfect match for everyone," Kung said. "I really think that that's why I stay away from those surveys and rankings because they're very arbitrary. It's a very individual process."
Kung says she tries to let the students, not the parents, choose their college.
"I'm very careful to tell the parents that it's about the students," she said. "It's not about parents trying to live out a dream that they couldn't fulfill themselves. For the most part, the parents really want what's best for the students."
University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 recognized that the Princeton Review survey is somewhat arbitrary but said the University was nonetheless pleased to receive the honor.
"While rankings and surveys can never provide an accurate reflection of whether a university may be the best choice for a student, it is gratifying that Princeton continues to be recognized by students and their families for the quality of its undergraduate experience," Cliatt said in an email.
The Princeton Review found that 55 percent of students say they will pick the school that's the best overall fit for them. Only nine percent say they will choose the college with the best academic reputation.
The survey also addressed the issue of stress during the college admissions process. Among student and parent respondents, 59 percent reported high levels of stress surrounding the process. In addition, 71 percent expect the cost of their degree to exceed $50,000.
Brookwood said that increasing levels of stress in families, as well as difficulty managing that stress, is the main trend she has noticed.
The survey is currently available in The Princeton Review book, "Best 361 Colleges," and on its website: www.princetonreview.com.
Correction
The original version of this article misstated the name of Terry Kung and the name of the Oakwood School.Read More
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