Student Diversity and Campus Beauty Also Lauded in Separate National Rankings

A number of adjectives describe DePaul University and its students in college rankings and guides being published for this fall. Hot. Trendy. Beautiful. Diverse. Cool. And most importantly, happy.

For the second time, DePaul University landed the No. 1 ranking in the "Happiest Students" category in the annual Princeton Review national college ratings. The university garnered the top spot in the category in 1999 and has placed in the top five in three of the past five years.

The rankings are the result of a survey of more than 106,000 college students at 351 top colleges and universities, and the findings are published in "The Best 351 Colleges," the organization’s annual college guidebook. Students were questioned on 70 different topics about academics, campus life and the student body at their university.

In the Princeton Review rankings, DePaul’s urban location also ranked No. 4 for "Great College Town." The university also was listed at No. 18 for "Diverse Student Population," the only Illinois university in the top 20.

DePaul’s hands-on faculty and administration received plaudits from students responding to the survey, as well. Professors at DePaul "are great…They even know you outside of class on a first-name basis," read the book’s profile of the university. The admission staff was praised as "genuinely committed to helping students." Additionally, the university was awarded three out of four stars by the book’s authors for quality of campus life and financial aid.

"It's gratifying to see that the Princeton Review recognizes what more than 23,000 students here already know -- that DePaul is a great place to be," said Chris Otto, president of the DePaul Student Government Association and a senior finance major from Milwaukee. "As students, this is an excellent time for us to thank all of the faculty and staff whose hard work makes DePaul such an outstanding educational experience."

Another national college guidebook also gave high marks to DePaul. In the recently-published "The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges," from Kaplan Publishing, a national survey of high school guidance counselors named DePaul as one of the top "Schools that are Hot and Trendy," as well as "Schools with the Most Beautiful Campus in an Urban Setting." The book’s survey of guidance counselors utilized a pure random sample and was conducted by a national market research firm.

Finally, the Sept./Oct. issue of Careers & Colleges Magazine is scheduled to feature DePaul as one of 20 "Cool Schools" around the country that high schools students should know about.

DePaul is the largest private university in Chicago and the largest Catholic university in the nation. A richly diverse population of 23,227 students attends classes on two city and five suburban campuses.

DePaul was founded in 1898 by the Vincentian Fathers and Brothers (the Congregation of the Mission), a Roman Catholic religious community that continues the mission and values of Vincent de Paul, the 17th century French saint known as the "Apostle of Charity."