Universities in New York
27 indexed campuses in Northeast, 369,200 students in total. Ranked by the Campus Atlas quality index; tuition shown as the in-state / out-of-state band.
Top 10 by quality index
| # | Institution | City | Control | Students | Admitted | Tuition | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornell | Ithaca, NY | private | 25,500 | 8% | $62,000 | 92 |
| 2 | Columbia | New York, NY | private | 36,000 | 3.9% | $63,000 | 90 |
| 3 | Juilliard | New York, NY | private | 800 | — | $55,000 | 84 |
| 4 | NYU | New York, NY | private | 53,000 | 13% | $60,000 | 80 |
| 5 | Barnard | New York, NY | private | 2,700 | — | $59,000 | 78 |
| 6 | West Point | West Point, NY | public | 6,000 | — | $0 / $0 | 74 |
| 7 | Cooper Union | New York, NY | private | 1,100 | — | $30,000 | 74 |
| 8 | Rochester | Rochester, NY | private | 12,500 | 36% | $60,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Colgate | Hamilton, NY | private | 3,000 | 40% | $59,000 | 70 |
| 10 | Syracuse | Syracuse, NY | private | 22,500 | 52% | $59,000 | 68 |
Largest campuses
New York University
New York, NY · private · 53k students
A city without gates: Tisch arts, Stern business, law and a growing STEM footprint in Manhattan plus degree campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.
Columbia University
New York, NY · private · 36k students
The Manhattan Ivy: journalism, international affairs, law and medicine plugged into the city media and finance pipelines.
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY · public · 32k students
UB is the SUNY research hub: architecture, dental medicine and informatics.
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · private · 26k students
A hybrid Ivy: privately governed, with contract colleges for New York residents. Strong in engineering, hospitality, agriculture and computing.
Hunter College
New York, NY · public · 24k students
Largest CUNY baccalaureate college: nursing, speech sciences and the arts.
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY · private · 23k students
Newhouse communications, Whitman business and a national journalism pipeline.
City clusters
- New York13 campuses · 181k students
- Ithaca2 campuses · 31k students
- Buffalo1 campus · 32k students
- Syracuse1 campus · 23k students
- Queens1 campus · 20k students
- Vestal1 campus · 18k students
- Henrietta1 campus · 16k students
- Rochester1 campus · 13k students
- Old Westbury1 campus · 11k students
- Bronx1 campus · 9.5k students
Guides about New York
- International StudentsCornell narrowed internship approval for international students, and its enrolment mix movedA Curricular Practical Training advisory, a new Collegetown dorm and the first full count after the affirmative action ruling.
- ResearchColumbia settled with the federal government and restored research fundingMore than $220 million, an independent monitor and a clause on academic autonomy - alongside a data release showing a larger admitted class.
- Campus LifeThe New York City campus mapIvy on Morningside Heights, art schools in Chelsea and flat-fee colleges in the outer boroughs.
Enrolment, tuition and acceptance figures are rounded planning values compiled in 2025/26 for orientation. Verify exact numbers with each university's official fact sheet before you apply.