Financial news outlet Money has published its annual list of the Best Colleges in America, featuring over 700 four-year institutions nationwide. Each school received a rating out of five stars, based on its educational quality, affordability, and student outcomes.
Along with star ratings, the list includes important metrics such as acceptance rates, estimated full price for the 2025–2026 academic year, estimated net price after average aid, and graduation rates.
72 colleges in New York state made the list, including six CUNY and 17 SUNY schools.
Out of the 732 schools on Money’s list, only 40 earned a five-star rating. Two of those are in New York:
Columbia University
Cornell University
Many other New York schools scored 4 stars or higher.
Barnard College — 4.5 starsCanisius University — 4 starsClarkson University — 4.5 starsColgate University — 4.5 starsColumbia University — 5 starsCornell University — 5 starsD’Youville University — 4.5 starsElmira College — 4 starsHamilton College — 4.5 starsHobart and William Smith Colleges — 4 starsLe Moyne College — 4 starsManhattan College — 4.5 starsMarist College — 4 starsMolloy University — 4 starsNew York University — 4 starsNiagara University — 4 starsRensselaer Polytechnic Institute — 4.5 starsSiena College — 4.5 starsSt. John Fisher University — 4 starsSt. Joseph’s University–New York (Brooklyn) — 4.5 starsSt. Lawrence University — 4 starsThe Cooper Union — 4.5 starsUnion College — 4.5 starsUniversity of Rochester — 4 starsUtica University — 4 starsVassar College — 4.5 starsWagner College — 4.5 starsYeshiva University — 4 stars
Baruch College — 4.5 stars
Brooklyn College — 4 stars
City College — 4.5 stars
Hunter College — 4.5 stars
John Jay College of Criminal Justice — 4.5 stars
Lehman College — 4.5 stars
Binghamton University — 4.5 stars
University at Albany — 4 stars
SUNY Brockport — 4 stars
SUNY Geneseo — 4 stars
SUNY Old Westbury — 4 stars
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry — 4 stars
SUNY Maritime College — 4.5 stars
SUNY Oneonta — 4 stars
SUNY Polytechnic Institute — 4.5 stars
SUNY New Paltz — 4 stars
Stony Brook University — 4 stars
University at Buffalo — 4 stars
Nationally highest acceptance rates. All at or near 100%, including:
Delta State University
Eastern Mennonite University
The University of Texas at El Paso
Southern Wesleyan University, and others
Highest acceptance rates in New York
Elmira College — 91%
Utica University — 87%
Mercy University — 85%
Niagara University — 85%
SUNY Old Westbury — 85%
University of Mount Saint Vincent — 85%
SUNY ESF — 83%
Wagner College — 83%
Canisius University — 82%
D’Youville University — 82%
Lowest acceptance rates in New York
Columbia University — 4%
Barnard College — 8%
Cornell University — 8%
NYU — 9%
Colgate and Hamilton Colleges — 12%
Cooper Union — 13%
Vassar College — 18%
Skidmore College — 23%
University of Rochester — 36%
Binghamton University — 38%
New York public colleges with lowest estimated full price: (All are CUNYs or SUNYs)
CUNY Hunter College — $24,950
SUNY Old Westbury — $27,270
SUNY Fredonia — $27,710
SUNY Polytechnic Institute — $27,940
SUNY Oswego — $28,550
SUNY Brockport — $28,700
SUNY Geneseo — $28,900
SUNY Cortland — $29,340
SUNY Oneonta — $30,010
SUNY Purchase — $30,140
New York private colleges with lowest estimated full price
Utica University — $41,710
Mercy University — $44,040
Touro University — $47,070
Canisius University — $50,410
D’Youville University — $51,430
New York colleges with lowest estimated net price
Baruch College — $4,200
Lehman College — $4,300
Brooklyn, Hunter, and John Jay Colleges — $4,400
City College — $4,900
Other low-cost schools include:
SUNY Old Westbury — $11,100
SUNY Polytechnic Institute — $15,500
Mercy University — $17,800
Nationally, the highest net prices included:
Ringling College of Art and Design — $64,100
California Institute of the Arts — $60,800
Manhattan School of Music (NY) — $55,100
Pratt Institute (NY) — $54,900
Syracuse University (NY) — $54,700
Other costly New York institutions:
Fordham University — $48,100
Sarah Lawrence College — $46,200
Union College — $45,500
University of Rochester — $43,400
Highest graduation rates (Nationally)
Princeton, Yale, and Harvard — 96–97%
MIT, Duke, Chicago — 96%
New York colleges with high graduation rates
Cornell — 95%
Columbia — 93%
Barnard — 93%
Vassar — 92%
Hamilton — 91%
Colgate — 90%
Lowest graduation rates in New York
Mercy University — 57%
Touro University — 59%
CUNY Hunter and City Colleges — 59%
CUNY Brooklyn College — 60%
CUNY Lehman and John Jay — 61%
To be included, schools had to:
Be a four-year public or nonprofit institution
Enroll at least 500 undergraduates or 150 freshmen
Have a graduation rate at or above the median, or be among the top 25% in “value-added” grad rates
Be in good financial standing and provide transparent data
Star ratings were based on:
Quality of Education – Graduation rates, student-faculty ratios, Pell Grant outcomes, academic stats
Affordability – Net price, aid amounts, debt levels, and outcomes by income
Outcomes – Alumni earnings 10 years post-enrollment and economic mobility
Most schools earned between 3.5 and 4 stars. Fewer than 6% earned a five-star rating.
“While this is the lowest tier of Money’s list, it’s important to note that these colleges still meet our minimum quality standards (unlike more than 1,500 colleges we do not rate),” Money notes in its report.
For the full rankings and methodology, visit Money’s Best Colleges in America.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Money just ranked the best colleges in America: See which NY schools made the cut