The University of Mary Washington has once again been named among the nation’s best by The Princeton Review. The education services company included UMW in its 2026 edition of The Best 391 Colleges, which profiles just 15 percent of America’s four-year institutions.

While the publication doesn’t rank schools 1 through 391, several earn specialized accolades, including UMW, which appears in the Top 20 for #11 Best Health Services, #15 Best College Theatre, #15 Best Student Support and Counseling Services and #15 Town-Gown Relations. Selections are based on data taken directly from student surveys – collected from 170,000 students nationwide – highlighting schools that deliver exceptional academics, campus life and other key aspects of the college experience.

The Princeton Review praises Mary Washington for providing “an extremely thorough and well-rounded education,” with classes that range from discussion-based seminars to hands-on experiential learning beyond the classroom. Students highlight faculty who take the time to connect with them and are “very personable and understanding.” One student concluded that when it comes to UMW professors, “we are a first priority to them, and it shows.”

Campus life earned a mention for offering “plenty of activities that cater to so many different interests,” including arts and music showcases, athletics, service-based opportunities and longstanding traditions like Devil-Goat Day, where students engage in friendly games and competitions. In all, “there’s always some type of event going on.” 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 about 4,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Virginia, a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Virginia, which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers.