CANTON – St. Lawrence University has been chosen as one of the 380 outstanding institutions profiled by The Princeton Review in its most recent Best Colleges book.

The college guide describes St. Lawrence as a “warm and welcoming” school, and it highlights the University’s low student-faculty ratio and strong alumni network. The Review calls St. Lawrence an “extremely tight-knit community that carries on a long-lasting tradition of Laurentian pride, academic rigor and sustainability efforts.”

The college says particular attention was given to its popular study abroad programming and advanced science labs.

This year, St. Lawrence debuted on two of The Princeton Review’s Top 20 lists. It ranked St. Lawrence seventh for Most Popular Study Abroad Programs and number 20 in the Best Science Lab Facilities category.

“Our 62 ranking lists provide students with a way to see the types of colleges that could help them achieve their future goals and dreams,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s senior vice president and publisher. “St. Lawrence’s outstanding academics are the chief reason we chose it for this book, and we strongly recommend it to applicants.”

The rankings are based on surveys of 136,000 students, which ask students 80 questions about their school’s academics, administration, student body and themselves. Only about 15 percent of 2,500 four-year colleges in the United States are profiled in its flagship guide, which went on sale Aug. 4. St. Lawrence was also included this past year in The Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges and Guide to Green Colleges publications.

“While St. Lawrence perennially is named a top college in the United States by the editors of The Princeton Review, this year I am gratified especially by the comments offered by our students,” said President William L. Fox. “Students speak with admiration about our faculty; they note how readily they can assume leadership positions; and they celebrate the legendary alumni loyalty. They describe our campus as ‘gorgeous’ and they feel ‘a sense of love and respect for our school.’ These accolades are possible because of the entire Laurentian community working together.”

Students commented on St. Lawrence’s “very intelligent professors,” who they said are always available to give insight and “aim to engage students in every way. They never cease to impress!” Students praised the campus for creating a safe community, providing “safe walks for anyone who feels unsafe on campus alone.” They also described St. Lawrence overall as a happy campus, saying, “It’s quickly apparent how happy everyone is to be here.”

In other recent publications, Forbes placed St. Lawrence alongside some of the best known research universities in a recent national magazine college ranking, placing it 133 in its list of “Top Colleges” for 2015. Unlike some rankings that separate out liberal arts colleges from major research universities, the Forbes list makes no distinction. Forbes also ranked St. Lawrence 107 among private colleges, 63 in the Northeast, and 76 on its "Grateful Grads Index,” a listing of schools with the best return on investment (ROI) based on the median amount of private donations per student over a 10-year period.

Earlier this summer, St. Lawrence was included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2016, and Money named St. Lawrence one of the nation’s top 50 liberal arts colleges.