Princeton Review names UMaine as among the best 384 colleges

The Princeton Review has lauded the University of Maine in its newest guide, “The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition,” focusing on UMaine’s unique combination of “extensive academic opportunities expected from a major research university, with the close-knit feel of a small college.”

In the 27th annual guide, UMaine scored highest in four key measures in an extensive student survey, including student engagement, political awareness and quality of residence halls.

In the Princeton Review “Students Say” section, a more intimate picture emerges: “The University of Maine is, put simply, ‘a fantastic state school,’” with students highlighting programs in engineering, music, forestry and natural resources, and marine sciences, among many others. While “tuition is affordable” and “financial aid was fantastic,” UMaine’s value nevertheless supports high academic standards, according to the students surveyed.

“The majority of the faculty members are brilliant and genuinely care about the progress of their students,” noted one student. Another student extolled, “I’ve had three of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had here already.” In addition to its academic strengths, students especially noted their satisfaction with the Career Center, Fogler Library and the Counseling Center.

Campus life generated some of the highest ratings, with student activities benefiting from UMaine’s sense of community, its “very open and friendly” people and, perhaps most of all, the great outdoors at UMaine’s doorstep. It can’t be disputed that “Maine is very beautiful,” a student noted. You can’t help but “take advantage of natural beauty that Maine has to offer,” especially in skiing and hiking, said another.

True to its motto, says the Princeton Review, UMaine’s students call it the “College of our hearts, always.”

The Princeton Review citation is the second for UMaine in the past month. In July, the “Fiske Guide to Colleges 2019” listed the university as one of the more than 300 “best and most interesting” colleges in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland.

Contact: Margaret Nagle, 207.581.3745