A place to thrive: Saint Mary’s earns recognition for its commitment to access, belonging, and affordability. / Photo by Francis Tatem
Looking for the College that Is Right for You? Saint Mary’s Is Featured in ‘Dream School’ by Jeffrey Selingo
New book spotlights Saint Mary’s as a college delivering exceptional outcomes and community. Finding your dream school, Selingo writes, is “about choosing a place where you can thrive, learn, and become the person you’re meant to be.”
Saint Mary’s College of California has been recognized as one of America’s “New Dream Schools” in a newly released book by New York Times bestselling author and higher education journalist Jeffrey Selingo. In Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right for You, Saint Mary’s appears on the national list in the “Hidden Values” category, which highlights colleges that deliver exceptional outcomes while remaining deeply committed to access, belonging, and affordability.
Selingo, whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, compiled the list from more than 3,900 US colleges. His research identifies schools where students thrive thanks to strong outcomes, accessible admissions, and a vibrant, supportive community.
“Being named a ‘Dream School’ affirms what so many of our students and alumni already know,” said Saint Mary’s President Roger Thompson. “This College offers a transformative education, rooted in our Lasallian, Catholic, and liberal arts traditions, that prepares students not only for meaningful careers but also for purposeful lives of service and leadership. When a student comes to Saint Mary’s, they are seen, heard, and known, which is part of what makes being a Gael so special.”
To find the right fit in a college, journalist Jeffrey Selingo says to focus on qualities that foster student success—a strong sense of belonging, meaningful outcomes, and value.
In Dream School, Selingo turns the spotlight away from admissions selectivity and toward what truly matters for students: finding the right fit. He urges families to look beyond rankings and prestige, focusing instead on the qualities that foster student success—a strong sense of belonging, meaningful outcomes, and value. His book offers practical tools to help students discover colleges, like Saint Mary’s, where they can both thrive and contribute.
The recognition underscores Saint Mary’s longstanding commitment to providing students with a high-quality education that is both personal and practical. With small class sizes, close faculty mentorship, and a strong track record of graduate and career outcomes, the College exemplifies the “hidden value” of institutions that deliver far beyond what rankings or prestige alone might capture. As Selingo writes, when it comes to finding your dream school, “It’s about choosing a place where you can thrive, learn, and become the person you’re meant to be.”
For Saint Mary’s, the honor also aligns with its mission as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institution—an integral part of the College’s commitment to expanding educational opportunity for all students.
“Our students bring talent, resilience, and vision to their studies,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Carol Ann Gittens. “This recognition speaks to the sense of community we’ve built together—whether a student joins us from the Bay Area, Southern California, or from one of the many states and countries represented on our campus. At Saint Mary’s, every student experiences belonging, access, and outcomes that are central to the Gael experience.”
Among Best Colleges…and a Best Value College
Along with this new distinction, Saint Mary’s has also been recognized by The Princeton Review in Best 391 Colleges: 2026 Edition, by Money Magazine as among the 2025 “Best Colleges in America,” and in Forbes Top Colleges List. In the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, Saint Mary’s earns a spot in the top percentages among Regional Universities in the West, and for quality and affordability receives increasingly high marks in the list of Best Value Colleges. Saint Mary’s also receives recognition as one of the Best Colleges for Veterans and is among Top Performers in Social Mobility.
You’ll also find Saint Mary’s highlighted in the guide Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges—the first Catholic college and the first university in California to make the list.
Story updated September 24, 2025 at 11:45 a.m. Pacific
Mike Janes is Senior Director of Executive Communications and Senior Writer at Saint Mary’s. Write him.
