SDSU named among The Princeton Review’s Best 391 Colleges, Top 50 Green Colleges

San Diego State University is named in the 2026 edition of The Princeton Review’s Best 391 Colleges, earning high ratings for academics, admissions selectivity, professor accessibility, financial aid, fire safety, quality of life and campus sustainability. SDSU also landed on The Princeton Review’s Best West and Top 50 Green Colleges lists.

Only about 15% of America’s nearly 2,400 four-year colleges are included in The Princeton Review guidebook. The list names 391 universities based on surveys of 2,000 college administrators about their institutions’ academic offerings, and surveys of students who rated their schools on dozens of topics.

SDSU earned noteworthy scores (on a scale from 60–99) in several categories, including quality of life (89), admissions selectivity (88), professor accessibility (90), green initiatives (97), financial aid (89) and fire safety (96). 

"SDSU has outstanding academic programs and the feedback we received about SDSU from its students we surveyed was very impressive," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's editor-in-chief and lead author of The Best 391 Colleges. "We are delighted to name SDSU one of our Best Colleges for 2026 and to recommend it to students searching for their ‘best-fit’ college.”

The Princeton Review does not rank schools included in the Best 391 Colleges hierarchically from 1 to 391, but does provide scores in several categories.  More information on how these scores are determined is available online, as are details about the methodology for the rankings and the student survey.

The report on SDSU also includes mention of student employment and internship resources offered through SDSU Career Services, including Handshake, a recruiting platform for students and alumni, and the Aztec Mentor Program, which matches juniors and seniors to SDSU-affiliated mentors.

This is the second year in a row SDSU earned the No. 42 spot in the Top 50 Green Colleges rankings, which recognizes institutions for their sustainability practices, sustainability education, and quality of life for students on campus. The ranking is based on a combination of school-reported data and student survey data. SDSU is the only California State University campus included in the Top 50.

The Princeton Review also included SDSU in its Best West list, a breakdown of 631 “academically outstanding” universities in seven different regions of the U.S.

SDSU has seen a recent string of recognition in notable university rankings over the past year.

This past June, SDSU was ranked in the top 3% of global universities and among the top 150 universities in the U.S. by the Center for World University Rankings.

Also in June, SDSU earned 4.5 out of 5 stars in Money’s 2025 Best Colleges in America ratings, recognized for its strong graduation rates and return on investment.

In April, U.S. News & World Report highlighted several SDSU graduate programs in the top 50 of its graduate school rankings, and in January, placed SDSU’s online master’s degree in education at No. 3 in its 2025 Best Online Master’s in Education Program Rankings.

In February, SDSU joined the top 5% of universities in the U.S. to be designated as an R1 institution by the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education. The designation represents the highest level of research activity and doctorate production among nationwide universities, reflecting SDSU's dedication to excellence in both innovation and education. The Carnegie Foundation also named SDSU one of its 2025 Opportunity Colleges and Universities. 

This significant distinction, earned by just 16% of institutions nationally, celebrates schools that successfully enroll students from their local communities and achieve strong post-graduation earning outcomes. SDSU also earned an elective classification for community engagement, highlighting its collaboration with local, regional, national and global communities.