Criteria for selection into the guidebook include academic quality and selectivity.

The guide describes Southwestern as “a small liberal arts school with strong academics and top notch professors” with a focus “not only on classroom studies, but students’ total development as contributors in the post-grad world.” It lauds the University’s biology, psychology, business, communication studies and international studies departments as well as its study abroad and internship programs. The guide notes that tuition is “markedly less than at institutions of similar quality in other parts of the nation.”

Fiske completes its assessment of Southwestern by stating, “With a friendly environment and a beautiful campus, students at Southwestern are still able to bask in a broad range of academic and social experiences. The university’s small size means its students know they will leave with a strong sense of themselves and their futures. Southwestern is proof that there’s a lot of heart deep in the heart of Texas.”

Ten other Texas colleges and universities were included in the guide. They are Austin College, Baylor University, University of Dallas, Rice University, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech University and Trinity University.

Southwestern also has been featured in The Princeton Review’s Best 351 Colleges (2004 edition). The company annually surveys more than 100,000 students at top schools across the country to gather information for rankings. In addition, Southwestern is one of the 129 schools profiled in the very first edition of The Best Western Colleges, one of five regional guidebooks produced by The Princeton Review.