In The Princeton Review’s survey of University of Pittsburgh students for the just-published 2007 edition of its book The Best 361 Colleges (Random House/Princeton Review), Pitt won praise for its academic offerings, faculty, and quality of campus life and received applause for “Great computer facilities,” “Great library,” and great athletic facilities.

The Princeton Review reported that 115,000 students at the 361 colleges profiled in the book (about 300 per campus) were surveyed for the annual college ranking, which has been conducted since 1992.

According to Pitt students surveyed, the University “is the perfect-sized institution,” with “all the benefits of a large urban university, including research, internships, and lots of amazing experiences,” but also small enough so “people truly have a chance to make a name for themselves on campus.”

“Many programs stand out” at Pitt, according to the book, with medical programs benefiting from the University’s affiliation with “the renowned research-oriented” UPMC. Pitt’s programs in dentistry, pharmacology, physical therapy, neuroscience, and biology “are all considered outstanding,” with the University’s programs in engineering, business, and the liberal arts “also noteworthy.”

Pitt students, the book states, are appreciative that “professors here are all very accessible and really want their students to learn” and that study-abroad opportunities “abound.”

The students also had glowing comments to make about campus life, calling Oakland a “really nice location,” voicing approval of the University’s free city bus pass agreement that “encourages undergrads to explore” Pittsburgh, so that many take advantage of PittArts, “which heavily subsidizes cultural events in the city,” offering “free lectures, operas, and symphonies,” all of which led one student to describe Pittsburgh as “a college city…that really caters to students. Bigger cities may offer more renowned acts…or more famous museums, but in Pittsburgh we can actually afford to experience them!” Among other campus highlights for the surveyed students were on-campus student performances, lectures, and athletic events, with all of the available options making “socializing easier and less alcohol-centric.”

Pitt’s “very diverse population” of students, according to The Princeton Review student survey, virtually ensures that “everyone is bound to meet someone whom he or she would have never met staying in his or her hometown.” And the University’s more than “450 organizations…provide a place for students to come and be their own people” with other students who, because of Pitt’s “highly competitive admissions,” “have a lot going for them.”

Additional information about Pitt and the other colleges recognized in the survey can be found here.