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keeping their sticker prices low," said Robert Franek, senior vice president and publisher of Princeton Review and lead author of The Best Value Colleges, the release continues. New College of Florida is the state of Florida's honors college for the liberal arts and sci- ences. With a student population of slightly more than 800, it "emphasizes individualized learning for students from 38 states and 20 foreign countries," the release adds. It is con- sistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the nation for both academics and value by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes. com, Kiplinger's Personal Finance and other media outlets. Among the college's notable achievements are the following, the release points out: • It produces more Fulbright Scholarship recipients per capita than almost all other U.S. colleges and universities, with 56 in the past decade and 33 in the past five years. • Nearly 20 percent of its graduates are in the STEM fields of science, technology, math and engineering, one of the highest per- centages in the nation. • About 30 percent of the students receive Pell Grants, which support low-income families, also one of the highest percent- ages in the country. • More than half of all New College's students graduate with no debt. The Princeton Review used institutional data and student surveys from fall 2012 to fall 2013 to assess about 650 colleges nationwide, the release explains. It examines 30 criteria, including academic performance, costs and financial aid. For the 2012-2013 academic year, New College's in-state tuition and fees were $6,783. The Princeton Review also considers the percentage of students who take out loans and the average debt those students have at graduation, the release says. It then selects 75 public and 75 private colleges as the best values, ranks the top 10 schools in each cat- egory, and then lists the rest in alphabetical order. The Princeton Review's Best Value schools rankings are available on its website, at princ- etonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx. Brookside Middle School will host an oppor- tunity next week for students and parents to learn about offerings for its International Baccalaureate (IB) program, the Sarasota County Schools has announced. IB Discovery Night is set for 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The event will be an open house "welcoming current students and their families, as well as those interested in attend- ing Brookside next year," a news release says. BROOKSIDE MIDDLE TO HOST IB INFORMATION EVENT NEXT WEEK Brookside alumni also are welcome to attend. Displays across campus will showcase the many courses, organizations and activities available to students. Parents of current stu- dents may pick up report cards, and the book fair will be open, the release notes. "As the International Baccalaureate middle school for Sarasota County, Brookside invites every child to find a home in its school family," said Principal Kristine Lawrence in the release. Sarasota News Leader January 31, 2014 Page 67