NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2026 / —The Princeton Review®, one of the nation’s leading education services companies, today reported findings of its third annual Campus Mental Health Services Survey. The 2026 survey is a part of a comprehensive initiative the company conducts in partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, an internationally recognized organization that works to end the stigma associated with mental health.
The project, which launched in October 2023, is an ongoing partnership. Designed to drive improvements in how colleges support student mental health and well-being, it builds on the Foundation's extensive work with colleges and universities across the U.S. to identify gaps in mental health resources and encourage initiatives to make student well-being a greater priority.
"Over the last decade, our Foundation has worked with colleges and universities to better understand where students are being supported and where important gaps remain," said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation. "We partnered with The Princeton Review to build something that didn’t exist before: a way to make student well-being visible and comparable across higher education, so it becomes a priority for institutions and for the families choosing them. Three years into the effort, we are encouraged by the progress we are seeing, but the ultimate measure of success will be whether institutions use what we are learning to make meaningful, lasting changes for their students."
The 2026 findings reported today are in two parts. The first reports on The Princeton Review’s survey of administrators at 739 undergraduate institutions about their school’s mental health and wellness services. The second reports on its survey of more than 56,000 students across 300 colleges about their awareness of those services. The full 2026 Campus Mental Health Services Survey Report is available for download and includes an executive summary, details on each survey and its methodology, survey questions and answer choices, and data analyses with year-over-year comparisons.
The growth in participation among schools suggests that comprehensive, campus-wide approaches to student mental health are no longer the exception; rather, they are increasingly becoming the norm among participating institutions. The Princeton Review and the Ruderman Family Foundation plan to evolve the project’s Mental Health Services Honor Roll in 2027 to reflect that progress.
Year-over-Year Comparisons
Comparisons of survey findings—from the 2024 inaugural survey to the 2026 survey—show significant growth in many areas. Since the project's inception, institutional participation in the survey has nearly tripled from 250 participating institutions in 2024 to 540 in 2025 to 739 in 2026. Student participation has increased 409% from more than 11,000 students participating in the 2024 survey to more than 56,000 students participating in the 2026 survey. Finally, mental health education has become embedded in the academic curriculum. More than three quarters (77%) of institutions participating in the 2026 survey now offer for-credit or non-credit mental health and wellness education courses—compared with 58% so reporting in 2024.
Additional Findings of the 2026 Administrator Survey
Among the administrators at 739 institutions that completed the survey:
- 99% (730) reported their colleges have a comprehensive mental health/wellness program that makes counseling, referral, and well-being services available to all students—up 41% from 515 so reporting in 2025, and up 238% from 216 so reporting in 2024
- 99% (732) reported their colleges have a mental health services website—up 41% from 516 so reporting in 2025, and up 238% from 216 so reporting in 2024
- 92% (371) reported their colleges have suicide prevention training programs—up 32% from 282 so reporting in 2025, and up 111% from 176 so reporting in 2024
Additional Findings of the 2026 Student Survey
Among the more than 56,000 students across 300 colleges that completed the survey:
- 82% agreed with the statement "If I needed to seek professional help for my mental or emotional health, I would know where to access my school's resources"—up from 79% so reporting on the 2025 survey
- 80% agreed with the statement "Mental health services are readily available on campus"—up from 76% so reporting on the 2025 survey
- 79% agreed with the statement "I am aware of mental health outreach efforts by my school"—up from 75% so reporting on the 2025 survey
Now in their second year, individualized benchmark reports give participating schools a comparison of their campus mental health services and programs with those of similar institutions and with the broader group of participating schools. The reports provide each school with a clear picture of where it stands and help translate the project’s findings into meaningful, sustained action on campuses nationwide.
"We are deeply grateful to the Ruderman Family Foundation for its ongoing support for this project and its compelling advocacy for mental health and wellness services," said Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Review. "For more than 40 years, our company has helped millions of students find and get into their best-fit colleges. However—as many students, parents, and educators know—getting in is only the beginning. The road from orientation to graduation brings challenges across many fronts for which support is often essential, if not crucial. When it comes to student success in college, well-being is everything."
School Profiles & Honors
The project includes two initiatives to promote information about specific schools’ campus mental health services and make that information accessible to college students, college applicants, parents, and student advisors.
- The Princeton Review publishes information reported by administrators about their institution's campus mental health services in the company's profiles of the schools on its website and in its annual Best Colleges guide (now out in its 35th edition). Today, the company added campus mental health services information into the website profiles of the 739 institutions that participated in this year's survey. A list of the participating institutions is here.
- A second annual initiative is the project's Mental Health Services Honor Roll. It recognizes schools that have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to their students' mental health and well-being. This year, 76 institutions earned this distinction—more than double the number (30) that made the Honor Roll in 2025 and more than four times the number (16) that made the Honor Roll in 2024. The list of schools that earned Honor Roll designations this year, and information about the criteria for the Honor Roll, is here.
Among the 76 schools named to the Mental Health Services Honor Roll this year, 11 hold the additional distinction of having been named to the Honor Roll for three consecutive years—in 2024, 2025 and 2026. In alphabetical order, they are:
Arizona State University
Boston University (MA)
Coastal Carolina University (SC)
Colorado State University
Columbia University (NY)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New York University
Princeton University (NJ)
State University of New York—University at Albany
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
William & Mary (VA)
Additional Presentations of Findings
- Today, The Princeton Review posted a video on its popular YouTube channel featuring Rob Franek, the company's Editor-in-Chief, discussing the project's continuing mission and highlights of the 2026 survey findings.
- On Wednesday, November 4, at 6:30 PM ET, The Princeton Review will host a webinar on the 2026 project titled "Advancing Campus Mental Health." Moderated by Rob Franek, the webinar will feature a panel of higher education leaders sharing their perspectives on the survey findings and the evolving state of campus mental health services. Information about registering for the webinar is here.
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 45th 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 29 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 Facebook (@ThePrincetonReviewSAT), Instagram (@theprincetonreview), LinkedIn (the-princeton-review), YouTube (@ThePrincetonReview), and TikTok (@princeton.review). Subscribe to The Princeton Review's twice-weekly newsletter, Brick & Mortarboard, here.
About the Ruderman Family Foundation
The Ruderman Family Foundation is an internationally recognized organization that works to end the stigma associated with mental health. The Foundation does this by identifying gaps in mental health resources and programs within the high school and higher education communities as well as by organizing other local and national programming and initiatives that raise greater awareness around the stigma. The Ruderman Family Foundation believes that inclusion and understanding of all people is essential to a fair and flourishing community and imposes these values within its leadership and funding. For more information, please visit www.rudermanfoundation.org
SOURCE
The Princeton Review
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CONTACTS
The Princeton Review: Media Relations Director Jeanne Krier, pressoffice@review.com
Ruderman Family Foundation: Liat Dolengiewicz, liatd@rudermanfoundation.org
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