New College Gets Strong Marks in College Guides

New College of Florida got off to a hot start in July with high marks from the Fiske Guide to Colleges, Colleges of Distinction and BestColleges.com, publications that advise students and families on the best choices for a college education.
The Fiske Guide, founded by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske and in its 30th year, named New College as a “Best Buy” college – one of just 41 in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The review called New College a “fast-rising star” where academics are “very intense” but without a competitive atmosphere. Teaching is “outstanding” and professors “care about their students,” it said.
The Fiske “Best Buy” colleges must meet the guide’s criteria for a top four- or five-star academic rating, and be in its moderate or low price groupings. The rating places New College in the company of noted institutions like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Texas at Austin, and Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.
Colleges of Distinction named New College as one of its nearly 300 listed institutions, noting that “as the state’s independent honors college, New College of Florida retains its distinctive academic program and high standards which make it a college of choice for students who can manage the freedom and responsibility of designing their own education.”
The guide, based on interviews with high school counselors and college officials, alumni and students, praised the college’s teaching, saying “NCF takes the life of the mind seriously, and its high standards demand rigorous student involvement and motivation. Its students develop a sense of personal responsibility and habits of mind that enable them to excel as lifelong learners in any vocation.”
BestColleges.com named New College as one of its 27 “Best Colleges for Non-Traditional Students,” a list including Brown University, Beloit College and Goucher College.