UNC Asheville Featured in The Princeton Review’s Best 390 College for 2025

The University of North Carolina Asheville is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduates according to The Princeton Review, which prominently features the University in its annual college guide "The Best 390 Colleges: 2025 Edition."

UNC Asheville also stands out in a number of category rankings that place it among the best of the best nationally.

Only about 15 percent of America's 2,600 four-year colleges are profiled in the book, which are chosen based on annually collected data from surveys of college administrators about their institutions' academic offerings and surveys of students about their experiences attending their institutions. UNC Asheville is also listed among 2025 Best Colleges: Region by Region for the South.

In the publication's category rankings, UNC Asheville is ranked No. 5 in the nation for Best Health Services. This recognition illustrates the University's commitment to student well-being and the Health and Counseling Center's dedication to students.

"The Health & Counseling staff are deeply committed to meeting the unique needs of UNC Asheville students. Our role in their lives goes beyond providing healthcare and includes acting as educators, mentors, and role models," said Jay Cutspec, director of health and counseling.

Contributing to UNC Asheville's Quality of Life rating of 91, the Health and Counseling Center offers comprehensive medical and wellness services, free of charge, to ensure students thrive beyond the classroom.

Center opportunities include meeting with a Wellness Coach, scheduling medical provider visits, attending a therapy dog event, learning about healthy life choices, and walking-in for a Let's Talk counseling consultation.

Other category rankings include: No. 6 for Green Matters; No. 6 for Most Politically Active Students; No. 15 for Most Engaged in Community Service; and No. 19 for LGBTQ-Friendly.

UNC Asheville faculty are also highly regarded, receiving ratings of 93 in the "Profs interesting" and "Profs accessible" categories. One student said, "My professors are the best educators that I have ever had in my entire academic career."

Given its wonderful location in a vibrant city nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Princeton Review notes that, "Learning is not limited to traditional lectures, with many courses taught outside and opportunities for coursework that's 'entirely based around extracurricular involvement and action outside of the classroom.'"

UNC Asheville's inclusion in the rankings are strengthened by students' experiences inside and outside the classroom.

They describe how "first-year seminars provided at UNC Asheville are really great courses for exceptional discussions" and that some courses are "entirely based around extracurricular involvement and action outside of the classroom." This holistic commitment to the student experience has contributed to an increase in total student enrollment - up 4.4 percent to 3,055 - for Fall 2024, including the University's third-largest class of new degree-seeking students at 1,027.

"We salute UNC Asheville for its outstanding academics, and many other impressive offerings. We recommend it as an ideal choice for students searching for their 'best-fit' college," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's editor-in-chief and lead editor of "The Best 390 Colleges."

UNC Asheville's profile and ranking lists in "The Best 390 Colleges" are posted here.