Princeton Review to add green rating of colleges

The Princeton Review recently announced that it will publish a green rating in future editions of its annual college guide starting with the 2009 issue which will be released this summer. The decision came after 63 percent of the 10,300 respondents to the 2008 College Hopes & Worries Survey said that they would value having information about a college’s commitment to the environment and that it might impact their decision to apply to or attend the school.” A full 23 percent said this information would "strongly" or "very much" contribute to decisions about which schools to apply to or attend. The rating that colleges receive will be based on how environmentally responsible a school's policies are, how healthy and sustainable the campus quality of life is, and how well a school prepares its students to make informed and environmentally responsible lifestyle decisions after college. The rating will be on a scale of 60 to 99 points. The Princeton Review developed the rating in conjunction with ecoAmerica, a non-profit environmental research organization.