SLU's Alumni Network Ranked No. 3 by Princeton Review
St. Lawrence University was selected as one of the nation’s best colleges for students seeking a superb education with great career preparation at an affordable price in The Princeton Review’s recently published Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck.
In one of the book’s seven ranking categories, St. Lawrence was given the distinction of having the number three Best Alumni Network in the nation among all types of higher educational institutions.
“St. Lawrence students are rather fortunate in that they can both tap into a great alumni network and take advantage of a fabulous career services office,” The Princeton Review editors noted. “In fact, undergrads here make a point of mentioning that the office does ‘a good job with providing resources for students.’ Indeed, it’s one of the school’s ‘greatest strengths.’”
The Princeton Review looked at more than 40 data points to tally return on investment (ROI) ratings that determined the 200 schools selected for the book. Topics covered everything from academics, cost, and financial aid to graduation rates, student debt, alumni salaries and job satisfaction. The college admission services company chose schools based on data it collected in 2016-17 from its surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges. The company also factored in data from its surveys of students attending the schools and surveys of school alumni that PayScale.com conducted through April 2017.
According to a 2017 Career Services Follow Up Survey, more than 97 percent of recent St. Lawrence University graduates were either employed or attending graduate school less than one year after graduation. Many of those working indicated they had found employment directly as a result of a Laurentian connection.
“We’ve always known that St. Lawrence has one of the strongest alumni networks anywhere around, and it’s gratifying to see this confirmed by our peers who have placed our alumni practically at the top in the nation,” said President William L. Fox. “We witness our alumni engaged at all levels of giving to the University. However, the most important may be their willingness to give back in ways that directly help students succeed academically, experientially, and in their career mobility."
St. Lawrence’s Office of Career Services offers a number of signature career programs that are designed to engage alumni and parents with current students. Programs such as Shadow-A-Saints, Laurentians In Residence, SLU Connect and LINC all give students the opportunity to network with successful alumni and parents of students in a variety of career fields.
In the book’s profile of St. Lawrence, The Princeton Review editors specifically highlight the Sophomore Boot Camp, a program sponsored by Career Connections allowing students to hone their resumes and hear first-hand from professionals, alumni and parents on career options.
“We salute St. Lawrence. They stand out for their outstanding academics and their affordability via generous financial aid to students with need and/or comparatively low sticker prices,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief and lead author of the book.
Also recently released, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance included St. Lawrence on its list of the Best College Values of 2018, including the University on its list of 100 Best Value in Private Liberal Arts Colleges.
Kiplinger’s annual list of institutions of higher education includes private universities, private liberal arts colleges, and this year the top public schools, ranking the top 100 in each category. According to Kiplinger, St. Lawrence and the other institutions included in the 2018 lists represent the colleges that provide high-quality academics at a reasonable cost.
