NEWS

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranks second on a new list of the top 10 "hot and trendy" national universities, according to the Kaplan 2002 National Survey of High School Guidance Counselors.

Results of the annual survey were released this month and appear in "The Unofficial, Unbiased, Insider’s Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges," just published by Kaplan Inc. and Simon & Schuster. The publishers say the survey results offer an insider view of college admissions trends.

Topping the list of "hot and trendy" campuses was Harvard University, followed by Carolina. Appearing next were Duke and New York universities, University of California at Los Angeles, Georgetown University, University of Colorado at Boulder, Brown University, University of Maryland at College Park and Princeton University. In all, 31 schools were selected for this list.

Carolina also appears in the new guide among the top schools that:

· Are academically challenging. This listing is based on recommendations by guidance counselors to straight "A" students looking for schools with the highest academic standards.

· Offer the best freshman housing.

· Offer the best academic facilities (including libraries, science laboratories and technology support).

· Offer the best value for a student’s tuition dollar.

"The Kaplan Guidebook is interesting because it represents what high school counselors are hearing directly from their students," said Dr. Jerome Lucido, vice provost for enrollment management and director of undergraduate admissions. "Word of mouth has always been the best way to capture Carolina's excellence and its endearing atmosphere, and it's gratifying to see that prospective students around the country continue to hear and say good things."

The survey of the nation’s guidance counselors was conducted by Market Measurement, a national research firm. It was based on a pure random sample of U.S. public, private and Catholic high schools obtained from Dun & Bradstreet. The survey combined telephone interviews conducted within the sample of counselors. The firm also used the popular research technique of data weighting to ensure that the final study findings accurately reflected the total number of high school-aged students in each state. Counselors also were invited to share insights about the schools with which they were most familiar.

A two-page profile of Carolina appears in the new guidebook, which is being sold in bookstores nationwide. Book content is not available online, but additional information can be found at www.kaplan.com.

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News Services contact: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-2091

Kaplan contact: Lori Duggan Gold, (212) 492-5903