The University of Mary Washington is among the best in the country, according to Princeton Review’s The Best 386 Colleges guide. The 2021 edition of the rankings publication, released last month, lists UMW among the top 13 percent of the thousands of four-year colleges and universities throughout the nation.

One of the longest-running and most well-respected guides of its type, the publication has been used for nearly three decades by degree-seeking college applicants and their parents looking for the best undergraduate academic experiences available in the U.S. Results published in this year’s book are based on 143,000 student surveys gauging both on- and off-campus involvement.

The guide describes each school’s student body, and provides ratings in such categories as campus life, academics, admissions selectivity, financial aid and sustainability. UMW received high marks in all categories, including academics, with students reporting to find faculty members both interesting and accessible. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of more than 4,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers