Saint Mary's College of California landed in The Princeton Review's Best 392 Colleges guide for 2027, placing the Moraga campus among the top 14% of four-year institutions nationwide.

The guide, released Aug. 18, draws on surveys of roughly 172,000 students across the 392 featured schools. The Princeton Review also named Saint Mary's to its "Best West" regional list and its Guide to Green Schools for 2027.

Students surveyed for the guide praised "amazing relationships with professors thanks to the small classroom sizes" and said faculty are "always accessible for meetings and office hours because they want their students to succeed," according to the college. The guide also highlighted the Collegiate Seminar program, in which undergraduates study foundational and contemporary works, and January Term, a month-long focus on a single topic.

"What makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it reflects the experiences of our students … They describe a Saint Mary's education defined by outstanding faculty, meaningful relationships, and a community deeply invested in their success," Saint Mary's President Roger Thompson said.

The Princeton Review nod caps a string of national recognition for the college. TIME included Saint Mary's in its inaugural "America's Best Colleges 2026–2027" list the week of Tuesday, Aug. 25, ranking schools on graduation rates, graduates' earnings, student-to-faculty ratio and campus diversity. Saint Mary's reports a 10-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio.

Separately, Saint Mary's said Newsweek placed the college in the top 15% of more than 750 schools on its inaugural "America's Best Colleges for Women 2026" list, produced with Gender Fair, and that the college scored particularly high in leadership and safety categories.

The academic recognition arrives alongside a banner year in athletics. Saint Mary's is the only Division I school in the country to win back-to-back West Coast Conference (WCC) championships in men's basketball, softball and baseball. The men's basketball team beat Gonzaga 70–59 to claim a share of the regular-season title for the fourth straight year. The baseball team knocked off No. 1 UCLA twice in three days at a regional the Bruins hosted.

The rankings also come as the college navigates financial headwinds. The WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) placed Saint Mary's on accreditation warning July 9, citing "multiple years of declining enrollment and deteriorating finances," as reported by the Lamorinda Weekly. The college's accreditation remains in effect. A progress report is due Nov. 1. Thompson said in a message to the campus community that the college "remains fully accredited" and is focused on "a stronger, more sustainable future."

Saint Mary's has added new programs in recent years, including majors in nursing and public health. A new aquatics program covering men's and women's swimming and water polo begins competition in the 2026–27 school year.