(Leavenworth, Kansas) – The University of Saint Mary was once again recognized as one of the best colleges in the Midwest by The Princeton Review. The education services company has named Saint Mary to its Best in the Midwest list every year since 2005.
 
The 151 colleges on the Best in the Midwest list represent 12 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The Princeton Review editors chose 631 colleges across seven regions for its 2026 Best Regional Colleges feature, which is about 26 percent of America’s four-year institutions.
 
“The University of Saint Mary is proud to be recognized once again by The Princeton Review,” University President Sister Diane Steele said. “This distinction reflects USM’s commitment to providing an exceptional, student-centered education that fosters both academic excellence and personal growth. USM strives to create an environment where students are inspired to achieve their God-given potential, and this recognition affirms the hard work of our entire community.”
 
The Princeton Review surveyed administrators at 2,000 colleges for this project, requesting information about their school’s academic programs, campus policies, student services, amenities, and other topics. Over the years, The Princeton Review has surveyed more than 3.5 million college students. The company’s asks students to rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences.
 
“We recommend the University of Saint Mary as an excellent choice for students searching for their personal ‘best-fit’ college,” said Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief, The Princeton Review. “We selected the schools for our Best Regional Colleges for 2026 lists primarily based on our high regard for their academics. We also took into account what students attending the schools reported to us about their experiences at them.” 
 
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. These include online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; a line of more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, the company is now in its 44th year. The company's Tutor.com brand, now in its 25th 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 28 million tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review, headquartered in New York, NY, is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com. Follow the company on Instagram (@theprincetonreview), LinkedIn (the-princeton-review), YouTube (@ThePrincetonReview), and TikTok (@princeton.review).


The University of Saint Mary is a Catholic co-educational applied liberal arts university founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. The University of Saint Mary main campus is located at 4100 South 4th Street, Leavenworth, Kan. USM-Johnson County, at 11221 Roe Ave., offers evening accelerated graduate and undergraduate degree-completion programs. The university also offers online programs. Visit stmary.edu for more information.