Princeton Review cites Pitt’s lack of race or class integration

While Pitt is still one of the nation’s top 345 schools, according to a survey of more than… While Pitt is still one of the nation’s top 345 schools, according to a survey of more than 100,000 students conducted by The Princeton Review, the school continues to be haunted by the old problems of race relations and red tape.

The survey, which was published in August as “The Best 345 Colleges: the Smart Student’s Guide to Colleges,” asked approximately 300 students from each school featured to respond to 70 questions about academics, campus life and the student body.

The schools are rated in various categories, profiled and ranked on issues ranging from “Most Politically Active Students” to “Frat ‘ Sorority Scene Biggest.”

Pitt made two of these lists, ranking 10th in “Professors Suck All Life From Material” and 14th in “Little Race/Class Interaction.”

Not every student surveyed agreed with the rankings, however. Students quoted in Pitt’s two-page profile said their professors are “wonderfully entertaining and enlightening” and “lecture their balls off.”

Surveyed students also praised the library and study abroad programs, but reported that “students are cliquish,” “registration is a pain,” and students must contend with “lots of long lines and red tape.”

Now in its 13th year of operation, the survey was designed to provide the “most inclusive snapshot of college life at the colleges” to students and their parents, editor Erik Olson said.

The colleges included in the first survey in 1992 were selected by consulting with college counselors, Olson said. Since then, editors have added “schools with something to brag about,” such as innovative programs or interesting curricular development to the list of schools covered.

In addition, they look for institutions that will add to the geographic and academic diversity of included schools. Colleges range from large research institutions such as Pitt to an all-male liberal arts college with 26-student enrollment.

Included colleges were rated on their overall academic experience and quality of life. On a four-star scale, Pitt received three stars for campus life and two stars for academics. Rankings for Pitt and other schools can be accessed online at www.princetonreview.com.