Date: September 16, 2003

Guide calls PSU a 'hidden treasure'

Pittsburg State University is a "hidden treasure" and deserves a little more respect, according to the 2004 edition of "The Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges," which is based on Kaplan's National Guidance Counselor Survey. PSU, along with Wichita State University, made the list of the 20 most underrated schools, according to high school guidance counselors. PSU also made the list of 43 "Hidden Treasure Schools," which were defined as small schools that deserve wider recognition.

"We know how special Pittsburg State is," said PSU President Tom Bryant. "It is nice to know that others are beginning to get the message as well. It is especially nice to know that high school counselors recognize Pittsburg State's quality."

In addition to PSU and WSU, the list of underrated schools included University of California-Riverside, University of Arizona, Duke University, Florida Atlantic University, University of Houston, University of Texas-El Paso, Clark University, Nicholls State University, California State University-San Marcos, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Wright State University, Oakland University, Western Michigan University, University of Chicago, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Augsburg College, Ball State University and University of Massachusetts-Amhurst.

The survey upon which the Kaplan guide was based, asked high school guidance counselors to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the colleges they knew best. Current students, recent graduates and college officials were also surveyed. To assure an unbiased survey, Kaplan employed the services of a national market research firm, Market Measurement. The company used a pure random sample of guidance counselors from U.S. public, private, and Catholic high schools obtained from Dun & Bradstreet.

In addition to Pittsburg State University, schools that made the Hidden Treasure list are: Austin College (Texas), Flagler College (Fla.), Grove City College (Pa.), Alma College (Mich.), Duquesne University (Pa.), Southwestern University (Texas), Chapman University (Calif.), Saint Mary's College of Maryland, Carroll College (Mont.), Xavier University (Ohio), State U. of New York-Geneseo, Linfield College (Ore.), Reed College (Ore.), Allegheny College (Pa.), Westminster Coll. of Salt Lake City (Utah), Wofford College (S.C.), Rose-Hulman Institute of Tech (Ind.), Furman University (S.C.), Rollins College (Fla.), Franklin and Marshall College (Pa.), Central College (Iowa), College of Wooster (Ohio), DePauw University (Ind.), Pepperdine University (Calif.), Beloit College (Wis.), Azusa Pacific University (Calif.), Hanover College (Ind.), Mount Saint Mary's College (Calif.), Alverno College (Wis.), Stephen F. Austin State U. (Texas), Fort Lewis College (Colo.), Whittier College (Calif.), Weber State University (Utah), Quinnipiac College (Conn.), Ramapo College of New Jersey, Butler University (Ind.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Ill.), Bowdoin College (Maine), Kalamazoo College (Mich.), Clark University (Mass.), and College of the Ozarks (Mo.)

According to Kaplan, "The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide To The 328 Most Interesting Colleges 2004" is free of paid advertising from the profiled schools. The guide, written by Trent Anderson and Seppy Basili, is available at bookstores for $20. For more information, visit the Web site, http://www.kaptest.com/328media.

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