MACON, Ga. — Mercer University is one of 30 undergraduate institutions nationwide that The Princeton Review® has named to its 2026 Mental Health Services Honor Roll. The designation recognizes institutions for their exceptional dedication and commitment to their students’ mental health and well-being.
Princeton Review selected the schools based on data from their 2025 Campus Mental Health Survey, which polled administrators at 540 colleges and universities about their counseling, mental health and wellness services. They also polled students at 300 colleges about their awareness of their school’s mental health services.
The criteria for the 2026 Honor Roll selections broadly covered three areas:
- Whether students have a campus quality of life that is both healthy and attentive to the students’ overall well-being
- How well a school is empowering its students to address their own mental health through education programs and peer-to-peer offerings
- The overall administrative support for campus mental health and well-being through its policies, including commitments to staffing and student support
Dr. Douglas Pearson, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said Mercer is committed to serving students’ physical, mental and emotional health and wellness.
“Our counselors are truly committed to serving our students,” said Dr. Pearson. “Every year they look at ways to be more innovative and proactive in addressing student mental health challenges. This award is a testament to that hard work and dedication, and, in my opinion, is validation from our students that what they are doing is working.”
The company’s profile on Mercer describes its mental health offerings as having “a broad framework of support, ranging from clinical services at the Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) office to holistic wellness tools for use in residences and classes,” and praises the school for its “fully trained cohort of Peer Advisors to help ‘advocate for healthy behavior.’”
“With college students experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety, depression and other challenging issues, the availability of campus mental health services has become vitally important,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. “We are honored to commend Mercer University for prioritizing the mental health of its students and all the ways it is demonstrating commitment to promoting their students’ overall well-being.”
The Mental Health Services Honor Roll is part of an annual project, now in its second year, that Princeton Review conducts in partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation — an internationally recognized organization that works to end the stigma associated with mental health and to promote awareness of mental health resources on college campuses. Details about the methodology, a downloadable report and an infographic illustrating selected findings are accessible 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 44th year.
Feature photo: 2022 World Mental Health Day Coloring With CAPS event on the Mercer campus. Photo by Leah Yetter.
