The best college in New York for 2027 is Columbia University in New York City, followed by Cornell University and Hamilton College. New York has more four-year, degree-granting schools than any other state, with over 130. The State University of New York and City University of New York systems are two of the largest public university systems in the country and are home to dozens of colleges.

Large research universities, midsize colleges, small liberal arts colleges, a federal service academy and specialty schools are all available in urban, suburban and rural settings. Top schools are found all across the state, notably in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca and Albany, the state capital. This list covers 25 New York schools.

Our order follows the UM World University Rankings methodology and our university rankings. Use it to compare costs, majors and campus life before you apply.

The Best Colleges In New York 2027

 

1. Columbia University

Columbia University was founded in 1754 as King’s College and took its current name in 1896. This private Ivy League research university sits in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, and enrolls more than 36,000 students across 17 schools, plus affiliates including Barnard College and Teachers College.

Columbia was the first U.S. school to grant the MD degree, and it administers the Pulitzer Prizes. The first nuclear fission reaction in the Americas took place on campus. The Lions play NCAA Division I in the Ivy League. Alumni include Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Barack Obama, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Langston Hughes, and 103 Nobel laureates have ties to the university.

 

2. Cornell University

Cornell University was chartered on April 27, 1865, by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White and opened in 1868. This private Ivy League land-grant university sits on East Hill above Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, with about 26,800 students in fall 2024.

Colleges include Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Human Ecology, Industrial and Labour Relations, Veterinary Medicine and the Nolan School of Hotel Administration. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is based in Ithaca, and the university operates the arXiv e-print archive. Cornell has 63 affiliated Nobel laureates. The Big Red field 35 varsity teams, and alumni include Toni Morrison and E. B. White.

 

3. Hamilton College

Hamilton College began as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and became Hamilton College in 1812. This private liberal arts college in Clinton, in Oneida County, has about 2,000 undergraduates and went coeducational in 1978 after merging with Kirkland College.

It offers a Bachelor of Arts in 55 fields of study, including 44 majors, along with dual-degree engineering programs with Columbia and Dartmouth. Economics, biology and political science are the most common majors. The Continentals play NCAA Division III in the NESCAC. Alumni include Elihu Root, Goldman Sachs CEO David M. Solomon and psychologist B. F. Skinner. The women’s lacrosse team won the school’s first national title in 2008.

 

4. New York University

New York University was chartered on April 21, 1831, with Albert Gallatin as a founder, and held its first classes in 1832. The main campus surrounds Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, and about 61,900 students were enrolled in fall 2023.

It has ten undergraduate schools, including Stern School of Business, Tisch School of the Arts and Tandon School of Engineering, plus 15 graduate and professional schools. NYU has portal campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai and academic sites on several continents. The Violets play Division III, and the university has had no varsity football team since 1952. Linda G. Mills has been president since July 1, 2023.

 

5. Vassar College

Vassar College was founded in 1861 as Vassar Female College by Matthew Vassar. It sits in Poughkeepsie, in the Hudson Valley about 70 miles north of New York City, and became coeducational in 1969. About 2,450 undergraduates attend.

The Bachelor of Arts is offered in more than 50 majors, with biology, economics, political science, English and neuroscience among the popular ones. The Brewers play NCAA Division III in the Liberty League, and the women’s rugby team won a national title in 2018. Alumni include computer scientist Grace Hopper, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and actress Meryl Streep. The men’s volleyball team reached the 2008 national championship game.

 

6. Barnard College

Barnard College was founded in 1889 and sits along Broadway across from Columbia’s main campus in Morningside Heights. This private women’s liberal arts college enrolled about 3,400 undergraduates in fall 2022.

Barnard is affiliated with Columbia but has its own admissions, curriculum and finances, and graduates receive Columbia diplomas. It offers a Bachelor of Arts in about 50 areas of study, with joint programs at Columbia, Juilliard and the Jewish Theological Seminary. It is the only women’s college in NCAA Division I. Alumnae include Zora Neale Hurston, Jhumpa Lahiri and Greta Gerwig. Alumnae also include Cynthia Nixon and Martha Stewart, and the Columbia-Barnard Athletic Consortium fields 15 teams.

 

7. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art was founded in 1859 by industrialist Peter Cooper and sits at Cooper Square and Astor Place in Manhattan. It is a small private college with roughly 830 undergraduates.

Three schools cover architecture, art and engineering, with a shared humanities and social sciences core. Abraham Lincoln delivered the Cooper Union Address in the Great Hall on February 27, 1860, and the Foundation Building is a National Historic Landmark. Cooper Union ended free undergraduate tuition in 2014 and now uses need-based sliding-scale remission, with about 83 percent covered in 2024-25. Thomas Edison was among its early attendees.

 

8. Colgate University

Colgate University was chartered in 1819 by the Baptist Education Society and has had its current name since 1890, after years as Madison University. This private liberal arts college sits on a 575-acre campus in Hamilton, New York, with about 3,200 students.

It offers about 56 undergraduate majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts and a small Master of Arts in Teaching program. The Raiders play NCAA Division I in the Patriot League, with hockey in ECAC Hockey, and the colours are maroon and white. Alumni include Supreme Court justice Charles Evans Hughes, congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and broadcaster Andy Rooney.

 

9. United States Merchant Marine Academy

The United States Merchant Marine Academy was dedicated on September 30, 1943, and trains officers for the U.S. Merchant Marine. It sits on an 82-acre campus in Kings Point, New York, with about 1,000 midshipmen.

Students earn a four-year Bachelor of Science in one of five majors, split between deck and engine tracks. Midshipmen spend about 300 days at sea during their sophomore and junior years, visiting about 18 countries on average. The Mariners play NCAA Division III. Alumni include Senator Mark Kelly, former White House chief of staff Andrew Card and Nobel physicists Martin Perl and Henry Kendall. Wrestling competes in the Centennial Conference.

 

10. University of Rochester

The University of Rochester was founded in 1850. It is a private R1 research university and a member of the Association of American Universities, with about 12,200 students in fall 2023.

The Eastman School of Music, founded in 1921 with George Eastman’s support, sits downtown, and the Simon Business School is named for former Treasury Secretary William E. Simon. The Laboratory for Laser Energetics is a Department of Energy-supported national lab on campus, and the university’s motto is Meliora, meaning ever better. The Yellowjackets play Division III. Xerox founder Joseph C. Wilson is an alumnus. Zoloft and Gardasil are among the university’s notable patents.

 

11. Binghamton University, SUNY

Binghamton University opened in 1946 as Triple Cities College in Endicott. The public R1 research university is one of four university centers in SUNY and sits on a 930-acre campus in Vestal, with about 18,650 students in fall 2025.

Schools include Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, the Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the School of Management, the Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science and a School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences that opened in 2017. The Bearcats play NCAA Division I in the America East Conference with 21 varsity sports. It was Harpur College from 1950 until it became the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1965.

 

12. Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University began in 1886 as Etz Chaim Yeshiva on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Its main Wilf Campus is in Washington Heights, and the private university was enrolling about 2,250 undergraduate and 2,700 graduate students in 2020-21.

Undergraduate options are Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women and the Sy Syms School of Business, and graduate schools include Cardozo School of Law and the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education accredits it. The Maccabees play NCAA Division III, and the men’s basketball team won 50 straight games in 2021-22. The men’s basketball team earned its first NCAA tournament berth in 2018.

 

13. CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice

John Jay College of Criminal Justice started in 1964 as the College of Police Science and took its current name in 1967. This public senior college of the City University of New York sits in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, with about 13,900 students in fall 2022.

It is known for criminal justice, forensic psychology and forensic science within a liberal arts curriculum, and it launched a PhD in Criminal Justice in 1980. The Bloodhounds play Division III in the CUNY Athletic Conference. Alumni include former New York City mayor Eric Adams, forensic scientist Henry Lee and former NYPD commissioner James P. O’Neill.

 

14. Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University was founded in 1957 as the State University College on Long Island in Oyster Bay and moved to Stony Brook in 1962. It is a public R1 research university and one of SUNY’s two flagships, with about 27,250 students.

The 1,454-acre campus holds 12 schools and colleges, including medicine, dentistry, nursing and pharmacy. The university is a member of the Association of American Universities and co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory with Battelle. The Seawolves have played NCAA Division I since 1999. Alumni include actors Alan Alda and Adrien Brody. The College of Business earned AACSB accreditation in 2021, and the Seawolves moved to the Coastal Athletic Association in 2022.

 

15. University at Buffalo, SUNY

The University at Buffalo was founded on May 11, 1846, as a private medical school, with Millard Fillmore as a founder. It joined SUNY in 1962 and is now a public R1 research university with about 31,650 students across three campuses.

Thirteen schools and colleges include architecture, dental medicine, law, the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and pharmacy. It has belonged to the Association of American Universities since 1989 and is a SUNY flagship. The Bulls play NCAA Division I football in the Mid-American Conference. Alumni include CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and NPR’s Terry Gross. The mascot is Victor E. Bull, and former Intel CEO Bob Swan is an alumnus.

 

16. CUNY Baruch College

Baruch College started in 1919 as the City College School of Business and Civic Administration and became an independent college in 1968. It traces its roots to the 1847 Free Academy. The public campus sits along Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.

Three schools, the Zicklin School of Business, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences and the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, serve about 19,700 students (fall 2020). The Bearcats play NCAA Division III in the CUNY Athletic Conference. Alumni include fashion designer Ralph Lauren, singer Jennifer Lopez and former New York City mayor Abraham Beame. The 23rd Street subway station was renamed 23rd Street-Baruch College in October 2025.

 

17. Touro University

Touro University was founded in 1971 by Rabbi Bernard Lander and named for Isaac and Judah Touro. It became Touro University in February 2022. This private Jewish-sponsored system is headquartered in New York City and serves more than 19,000 students.

New York schools include Lander College for Men in Queens, Lander College for Women in Manhattan, the Touro Law Center in Central Islip, the College of Dental Medicine in Hawthorne and New York Medical College in Valhalla, which Touro acquired in 2011. The system also runs medical and pharmacy schools in California and Nevada. The New York College of Podiatric Medicine joined the system in February 2025.

 

18. Lehman College – City University of New York (CUNY)

Lehman College began in 1931 as the Bronx branch of Hunter College and became independent in 1968. This public senior college of CUNY sits in the Bronx near the Jerome Park Reservoir, with about 13,100 students in 2023-24.

More than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs run through six schools, plus the Macaulay Honours College. Research institutes include the Mexican Studies Institute and the CUNY Institute for Health Equity. The Lightning Bugs play NCAA Division III. Alumni include New York Attorney General Letitia James and actor Ron Perlman. Student programs include the Lehman Scholars Program, College Now and the Freshman Year Initiative, and poet Billy Collins and composer John Corigliano have taught there.

 

19. Union College – New York

Union College in Schenectady was chartered in 1795, and it was the first non-denominational institution of higher education in the United States. It is a private liberal arts college and the second college chartered in New York after Columbia.

It offers a liberal arts curriculum across 21 academic departments, with ABET-accredited engineering programs, and it started a civil engineering program in 1845. It began admitting women in 1970. The Garnet Chargers play in the Liberty League, with ice hockey in Division I. Alumni include President Chester A. Arthur and statesman William H. Seward. Eliphalet Nott served 62 years as president, the longest tenure of any U.S. college president.

 

20. Syracuse University

Syracuse University was founded on March 24, 1870, and still has ties to the United Methodist Church. This private research university enrolled about 22,600 students in 2024 and has 13 schools and colleges.

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is best known for journalism and sports broadcasting. The Orange play NCAA Division I in the Atlantic Coast Conference; the men’s basketball team won the 2003 national championship, and men’s lacrosse has won more NCAA titles than any other program. Alumni include Joe Biden and Kathy Hochul. The stadium is the JMA Wireless Dome, the mascot is Otto the Orange, and 36 Olympic medalists are alumni.

 

21. Skidmore College

Skidmore College began in 1903 as the Young Women’s Industrial Club and became Skidmore College in 1922. It is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs with about 2,850 students in 2024.

It awards Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in more than 60 areas of study, including 44 majors, and the average class size is 16. The Thoroughbreds play NCAA Division III in the Liberty League. Alumni include actress Zazie Beetz and former Vogue editor Grace Mirabella, and Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen attended. The Thoroughbreds were the Wombats from 1973 to 1982, and the school was the Skidmore School of Arts in 1911.

 

22. Molloy University

Molloy University was founded in 1955 as Molloy Catholic College for Women by the Dominican Sisters of Amityville. It became Molloy University on June 1, 2022. The Rockville Centre campus also has Suffolk County and Manhattan centers.

More than 69 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs sit in four schools: Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Services, and the Barbara H. Hagan School of Nursing and Health Sciences. About 5,000 students attended in fall 2024. The Lions play NCAA Division II, mostly in the East Coast Conference, with 19 varsity sports. It was Molloy College from 1971 until 2022, and its Dominican affiliation continues.

 

23. St. Bonaventure University

St. Bonaventure University was founded in 1858 by Franciscans and gained university status in 1950. This private Catholic university sits in Allegany, near Olean, and enrolled about 3,050 students in fall 2025.

More than 50 programs are spread across the Jandoli School of Communication, the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Business, the School of Education and the DePerro School of Health Professions. The Bonnies play NCAA Division I in the Atlantic 10 Conference with 19 varsity programs. Six Pulitzer Prize winners are alumni. About 2,100 are undergraduates, and the school was St. Bonaventure’s College until 1950. The men’s basketball team has reached the NCAA tournament eight times.

 

24. University at Albany, SUNY

The University at Albany began on May 7, 1844, as the New York State Normal School. It is a public R1 research university and one of four SUNY university centers, with about 17,400 students in fall 2025.

Nine schools and colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate majors and 150 graduate programs, and the New York State Writers Institute is based there. The Great Danes play NCAA Division I in purple and gold, with most teams in the America East Conference. Parts of the Uptown campus extend into Guilderland, and a Health Sciences campus sits in Rensselaer. Earlier names include New York State College for Teachers.

 

25. Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences was founded on June 12, 1881, as the Albany College of Pharmacy. It is a private, independent college at 106 New Scotland Avenue in Albany, with about 900 students.

The four-year PharmD is its core program, and the college has added health science programs. The Panthers compete in the USCAA, and the women’s basketball team won the 2013 national title. A Vermont satellite campus operated from 2009 until it closed in 2021. In April 2025, the college announced a planned merger with Russell Sage College, expected to finish in fall 2027. The college has eight varsity sports.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best college in New York?

Columbia University in New York City is first on our 2027 list, followed by Cornell University in Ithaca and Hamilton College. Columbia and Cornell are both Ivy League research universities.

What is the largest university in New York?

New York University, with about 61,900 students in fall 2023. The University at Buffalo follows with about 31,650 in fall 2025, and Stony Brook University has about 27,250.

What is the oldest college in New York?

Columbia University, founded in 1754 as King’s College. Union College followed in 1795 as the second college chartered in New York.

Which New York colleges are in SUNY and CUNY?

SUNY schools on this list are Binghamton University, Stony Brook University, the University at Buffalo and the University at Albany. CUNY schools are John Jay College, Baruch College and Lehman College.

Is there a federal service academy on this list?

Yes. The United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point trains officers for the U.S. Merchant Marine, and midshipmen spend about 300 days at sea.

Which New York college is a women’s college in the Ivy League?

Barnard College in Manhattan is a women’s liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University. It is the only women’s college in NCAA Division I, and graduates receive Columbia diplomas.

Top 25 Best Colleges in New York 2027: Ranked List

1. Columbia University
2. Cornell University
3. Hamilton College
4. New York University
5. Vassar College
6. Barnard College
7. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
8. Colgate University
9. United States Merchant Marine Academy
10. University of Rochester
11. Binghamton University, SUNY
12. Yeshiva University
13. CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
14. Stony Brook University
15. University at Buffalo, SUNY
16. CUNY Baruch College
17. Touro University
18. Lehman College – City University of New York (CUNY)
19. Union College – New York
20. Syracuse University
21. Skidmore College
22. Molloy University
23. St. Bonaventure University
24. University at Albany, SUNY
25. Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

 

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