National University of Ireland Maynooth is one of the world’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review, the widely-known education services company. In an unprecedented move, The Princeton Review has chosen the Irish university for inclusion in the forthcoming edition of its popular annual “best colleges” guidebook, “The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition” This is the first time that any higher education institution located outside of North America has been included in the internationally recognized guidebook.
Said Robert Franek, Senior V.P. / Publishing, The Princeton Review, “We chose National University of Ireland Maynooth as one of our “best” undergraduate colleges based on several criteria we consider when reviewing schools for this book. First, we must have a high regard for their academic programs and other offerings. Second, our selections take into account institutional data we collect from the schools and the opinions of their students attending them whom we survey. We also greatly value the feedback we get about schools from our college-savvy staff across the United States as well as from students, educators and parents who use our services and books.”
Says Franek, “Only about 15% of the colleges in the United States are in this book, and they vary considerably by region, size, selectivity and character. It includes public and private schools, traditional and non-traditional colleges, historically black colleges and universities, and science and technology-focused institutions. However, each one is an outstanding institution we highly recommend to college applicants and their parents. In our opinion, these are ‘the crème of the crop’ institutions for undergraduates in America, and internationally.”
Wayne Henry, Director of International Education at National University of Ireland Maynooth added, “It is an honour for the National University of Ireland Maynooth to be the first and only university outside North America to be included in the Princeton Review “Best Colleges” guide. This is testament to the combination of an excellent academic record and the dynamic, student-friendly environment that enables the National University of Ireland Maynooth to offer the best of both worlds to students, and identifies the university as a world-class institution.”
The National University of Ireland Maynooth is Ireland’s fastest growing university, registering the highest growth of all seven Irish universities in first preference selections among students applying to undergraduate programmes in Ireland. With a tradition of academic excellence that can be traced back to 1795, National University of Ireland Maynooth also currently maintains the best record in commercialising research and counts two Nobel Peace Prize winners among its academic staff and alumni. Popular with international students, the beautiful and spacious university grounds contain a mix of historical nineteenth century Georgian buildings and world-class modern laboratory and library facilities between the north and south campuses. The gates of the university open onto the tree-lined streets of the town of Maynooth, located only 25 minutes from Dublin, Ireland’s vibrant capital city. With a tradition of excellence and an innovative focus on the future, National University of Ireland truly offers the best of both worlds to prospective students.
The Princeton Review’s annual “Best Colleges” guide is the only college guidebook that has both two-page profiles on the schools and college ranking lists of “top 20 schools” in 62 categories. The ranking lists are entirely based on The Princeton Review’s surveys of more than 122,000 students at the 376 schools in the book who rate their own schools and report on their experiences at them. Among the ranking categories are lists of colleges in the book at which students most highly (or least highly) rated their administrators, their career centers and their athletic facilities. Other categories reflect campus and student body political leanings, race/class relations, LGBT acceptance, clubs & societies scene, participation in sports, and religion. Note: The Princeton Review as a company does not rank the colleges in the book hierarchically, 1 to 376, either for academics (the company believes all 376 schools are first-rate, academically) or by any other category. Information about the book, its rankings and ratings is at http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings.aspx.
About the National University of Ireland Maynooth
National University of Ireland Maynooth is Ireland’s fastest growing university, with approximately 8,400 registered students. The university has 26 academic Departments which are organized into three Faculties: Arts, Celtic Studies and Philosophy; Science and Engineering, and Social Sciences. National University of Ireland Maynooth offers a wide variety of undergraduate degrees and postgraduate taught and research programmes at masters and PhD level. Building on a tradition of scholarship and excellence within the liberal arts and sciences tradition, National University of Ireland Maynooth is committed to being a first class research-led centre of learning and academic discovery. The University is also adjacent to Ireland’s ‘silicon valley’, with strong links to Intel, HP, Google and other giants of industry, and has recently undergone a major phase of expansion in research, teaching and service facilities. To find out more about the university, visit http://www.nuim.ie/international or visit Facebook and search for NUI Maynooth Study Abroad. To view the Study Abroad eBrochure visit: http://www.mi-ireland.com/nuim/studyabroad.
About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU) has been a pioneer and leader in helping students achieve their higher education goals for more than 28 years through college and graduate school test preparation and private tutoring. With more than 165 print and digital publications and a free website, http://www.PrincetonReview.com, the Company provides students and their parents with the resources to research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for higher education. The Princeton Review partners with schools and guidance counselors throughout the U.S. to assist in college readiness, test preparation and career planning services, helping more students pursue postsecondary education. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University and not a magazine.
Study in Ireland 
Delighted to see NUI Maynooth being recognised as a great place to study. Having just completed my first academic year as a mature student I can vouch for this well deserved praise. Everything about the place is great, from the lectures and lecturers, the library (presently being extended) and librarians, office staff and cafe staff, all are friendly and helpful whenever you have any reason to ask for assistance. I loved my first year there and I’m looking forward to the next few years.