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Juniata College Selected for The Princeton Review's Best 391 Colleges for 2026

(Posted August 19, 2025)

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HUNTINGDON, Pa.–Juniata College ranks among the top 15% of four-year colleges nationwide in The Princeton Review’s prestigious 2026 guide, The Best 391 Colleges. The recognition places Juniata in an elite group of institutions celebrated for exceptional academics, engaged campus life, and strong student outcomes.  

“Juniata College is a powerful place that changes lives. The positive recognition we receive from publications like The Princeton Review is a testament to the outstanding work of our faculty and staff, who care deeply about the success of our students,” said President James A. Troha. “The spirit of inquiry and integrity and strong faculty connections lead to success on campus and in future careers.”  

Juniata appears on several lists within The Best 391 Colleges, including Best Mid-Atlantic Colleges and Universities. The College ranks #7 for Lots of Race/Class Interaction, based on students’ responses to whether “different types of students interact frequently and easily.” It is #16 for Best Classroom Experience, where students rated their professors, classrooms, and lab facilities, the amount of in-class time devoted to discussion, and the percentage of classes they attend. Juniata is #5 for Most Accessible Professors, with students noting professors’ availability outside of the classroom to meet and connect. The College also ranks #23 for Great Financial Aid, reflecting students’ satisfaction with the financial aid packages they received. 

The Princeton Review does not rank its best 391 colleges. Instead, the book features ranking lists that feature the top 25 schools in each category, based entirely on surveys of 170,000 students who attend the 391 best colleges.   

“We don’t rank colleges based on our opinion of them, nor would we crown a school ‘best’ overall. It is what the students attending the colleges in this book tell us about their experiences at their schools that determines on which lists the schools appear in our book,” said Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Review and the book’s lead author. “Our goal since day one on this project has been to provide multiple resources to help college applicants answer what is, for most, the toughest question in their journey to college, ‘Which college is best for me?’”  

In its profile on Juniata, The Princeton Review editors write that the College provides students with two faculty advisors and offers programs of emphasis that allow students to design their own educational plan or select designated fields of study.   

“The Best 390 Colleges” is one of more than 150 Princeton Review books in a line published by Penguin Random House. The annual book and its rankings have been featured on NBC TODAY more than two dozen times and referenced by many other media, from NPR to The Wall Street Journal and The Chronicle of Higher Education.   

About Juniata College  

Juniata College is celebrating 150 years of education, integrity, and service throughout the 2025–2026 academic year. Founded in 1876, Juniata is an independent, co-educational college of liberal arts and sciences that draws students from more than 34 U.S. states and dozens of nations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North and South America. Juniata’s exceptional programs in science and education; innovative business and international studies offerings; signature programs in peace studies, museum studies, and integrated media arts; and experience-driven humanities offerings pair with the Juniata College Curriculum’s focus on local and global engagement. Students use the College’s Program of Emphasis (POE) system to work with two faculty advisers to pursue varied interests and talents.  

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; 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 43rd year. The company’s Tutor.com brand, now in its 24th 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 27 million 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). 

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.