The Princeton Review created a section called “Students Say” a couple of years ago. Basically, this section is composed of quotes from students who filled out online surveys about their respective universities. Ideally, the section should be helpful to those who would like to get a feel of the university that they are researching.
But without clear scientific research and survey standards, the section seems unreliable and unhelpful.
The publication ran a section of quotes about MSU for the 2004-05 school year. For some reason, the quotes were incredibly negative. If one reads this section, he would have thought that MSU is a school full of Deep South racism and Greek domination.
The Reflector responded to this with an editorial during the spring semester. We were concerned that the article was too negative about our university.
Princeton just released another section of student quotes for this school year about our school. This time, the section painted a rosy picture of MSU as a fun college with countless opportunities and great diversity. Not a single negative comment was included.
Overall, it’s apparent that the “Students Say” section cannot accurately portray the negative and positive aspects of MSU. The sections have only shown extremes, and Princeton should try delving deeper into the university, if only for the ones who read these sections.
The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Jed Pressgrove, news editor Sara McAdory, assistant news editor Wade Patterson, sports editor Ross Dellenger, entertainment editor Tyler Stewart, managing editor Dustin Barnes and editor in chief Elizabeth Crisp.
Princeton section an unreliable source
September 11, 2005