Positive feedback from nationwide surveys on several aspects of college life earned Iowa State a place in “The Best 331 Colleges — 2000 Edition” by Random House/Princeton Review Books.

The guide book has no specific format for selecting colleges nor does it give rankings, but it is based on a variety of aspects, all from students’ perspectives.

Of all the colleges in the nation surveyed, only 10 percent were included in the list.

“The fact that we’re included as one of the 331 colleges is great,” said Marc Harding, director of admissions. “ISU deserves it; it’s a great school.”

“The Best 331 Colleges” is compiled from students’ answers to questions from a 1998 questionnaire put out by Random House/Princeton Review.

The survey was composed of 70 questions related to academics, campus life, student body, study hours, politics and opinions, as well as an open section for any comments.

“We asked if the college is student-friendly, a good value financially and [about] the quality of academics,” said Ed Custard, the book’s lead author. “It’s a good sense of the overall college, not just the academics.”

Each college is rated on a scale of one to four arrows for campus life, academics, admissions and financial aid. ISU received two arrows in each category.

Princeton Review gave a “GPA” for each question and then compared it to other colleges, concluded by a general consensus.

The survey for ISU reads: “Everyone loves the Cyclones, frats and sororities dominate the social scene, great on-campus food, registration is a breeze, very little drug use and campus is beautiful.”

However, not all of the comments were positive.

“Students are not very happy, students are cliquish, [almost] no one listens to college radio, and student publications are ignored,” according to the book.

Harding feels the survey is not representative of all students, though ISU students filled out some of the questionnaires.

“It’s a subjective review,” Harding said. “There is not much objectivity in the writing.

“We’re just delighted to be included since it’s only 10 percent of the colleges nationwide,” he said.