About Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief, The Princeton Review ®

Updated August 2023

Rob Franek

Rob Franek is a national expert on colleges and higher education. He is a publisher, editor, lecturer, media contributor, and author of four books as well as a former college admissions administrator.

As Editor-in-Chief at The Princeton Review®, he oversees the company’s line of 150+ Princeton Review books distributed by Penguin Random House. He also directs The Princeton Review’s annual surveys of students, parents, and school administrators and reports the findings on national media as well as at dozens of conferences.

It is his interactions with students, parents, and counselors that Rob cites as his most inspiring professional experiences. They have been numerous: over his 32-year career, he has visited more than 1,200 high schools and more than 1,000 colleges and graduate schools.

Rob is author of The Best 389 Colleges, The Best Value Colleges, College Admission 101, and Colleges That Create Futures, and co-author of If the U Fits. He initiated the publications of The Ultimate Guide to HBCUs and The College Wellness Guide.

As director of The Princeton Review's national surveys, Rob has polled millions of college students for the company’s popular college rankings. Reported in more than 50 categories, the annual rankings are entirely based on student ratings of their colleges on the company’s 85-question survey. Rob also oversees the company’s annual College Hopes & Worries Survey of college applicants and their parents and its College Administrator Summer Survey.

Rob has hosted more than 135 videos on The Princeton Review's YouTube channel. Collectively, they have received more than a million views. They include timely updates on education topics (e.g., the new Digital SAT®) as well as video series. Among them are: Key Concepts for Spring 2023 AP Exams, Test Prep Tips & Strategies, and the College Admission 101 Learning Playlist.

Rob gives more than 100 talks a year to audiences of high school students, parents, educators, and counselor/advisors. He has chaired panels at the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) conferences and presented keynotes at many of its regional meetings. He has also delivered commencement addresses at three universities.

Dubbed "our go-to guy for all things college entrance" by Northeast Public Radio host Bob Barrett, Rob has been sourced in the Associated Press, New York Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, and other media. He has appeared on hundreds of broadcasts including more than 30 appearances on NBC Today. (Co-anchor Hoda Kotb has welcomed Rob on the show saying, “He talks. We listen!”) Rob has also been interviewed on NPR and appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and PBS as well as on Teen Kids News, and NHK WORLD (Japan).

Rob earned his B.A. at Drew University (NJ), and proudly serves on the university’s Board of Trustees. Prior to joining The Princeton Review in 1999, Rob was a college admissions administrator at Wagner College (NY) for six years. He is a resident of Manhattan, New York.

Some of Rob's 2023 national interviews include:

Franek is pronounced FRAN-ik. A headshot of Rob is downloadable here.

Contact: Jeanne Krier, Publicist for The Princeton Review, pressoffice@review.com

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review® is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admissions services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students as well as working professionals achieve their education and career goals through its many education services and products. They include online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review is now in its 42nd year. The company’s Tutor.com brand, now in its 23rd year, is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 24 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com and the company's Media Center. Follow the company on X (formerly Twitter) (@ThePrincetonRev) and Instagram (@theprincetonreview).

Updated August 2023

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