New York is a big place--it’s home to New York City, hundreds of small towns in upstate New York, and once you get north enough you’re basically in Canada. There are a number of great schools in New York, but we want to highlight the top schools, their differences, and their strengths. When one says “I want to go to college in New York,” they often mean Manhattan, but there’s much more to New York than just “the city.” If you have an open mind, you can find lots of different college environments of different sizes and specializations throughout the state. We’ll take you through them
Cornell
Location: Ithaca, NY
Undergraduates: ~15K
Cornell is located in a town that makes you feel like you’re in the midst of the woods and far from civilization. But the benefit is that you’re actually a part of a small, bustling community made up by the robust Cornell undergraduate and graduate community. So if you’re looking for a sort of “isolated but communal” type of energy for your college experience, Ithaca is a great place to look. The school is divided up into seven undergraduate colleges depending on your interest(s): Agriculture and Life Sciences; Architecture, Art & Planning; Arts and Sciences; Business (home to the School of Hotel Administration, one of the best programs of its kind); Engineering; Human Ecology; and Industrial and Labor Relations. The schools house some incredibly unique focuses and specializations, particularly in ILR, like Inequality Studies, and promote students taking electives across schools so you’re not limited at all.
NYU
Location: New York, NY
Undergraduates: ~26K
This quintessential “NYC college,” is often what students envision when they fantasize about going to school in New York City. Washington Square Park is basically the center of campus, NYU is centralized in the middle of bustling NoHo/Greenwich Village, spans across lower Manhattan, and spills into Brooklyn (if you’re an engineer). The school is known for its comprehensive and diverse programs, majors, and colleges, as well as its ever-expanding international outposts (namely ) for students who want to live, study, or work abroad. And, the location really can’t be beat for those who want to go to school in the middle of Manhattan. There’s not as much of an “intimate campus feel,” but if you’re applying to NYU, odds are that’s not what you’re looking for anyways.
Colgate
Location: Hamilton, NY
Undergraduates: ~3K
Colgate is the picture of a small, upstate liberal arts institution. Set in the small village of Hamilton, NY (not to be confused with Hamilton College, profiled below, located in Clinton, NY--confusing, we know), Colgate is a haven for those interested in exploring the liberal arts through an interdisciplinary lens in a cozy undergraduate environment. The school is known for top-notch programs in classic liberal arts fields like Russian, classics, or sociology, with comparably strong programs in the sciences, including physics and computer science.
Columbia
Location: New York, NY
Undergraduates: ~6.2K
Columbia is different from NYU in that it’s sort of created its own neighborhood in upper Manhattan as a result of the school being there. The school has a much more “campus-y” feel than does NYU, and its location in Morningside Heights is far enough away from central Manhattan that you feel like you’re on a true Ivy League campus but can opt-in to the New York hustle and bustle once you walk, literally, a block away. Students who thrive in more structured academic environments will do particularly well here--Columbia’s is rooted in the humanities, with literature, civilization, writing, art, and music courses acting as a baseline requirement (and jumping-off point) for all students, in addition to language, science, and physical education requirements.
Barnard
Location: New York, NY
Undergraduates: ~2.6K
Often conflated with Columbia because of the (nearly) overlapping campuses and interwoven curricula for many students (Barnard students can take classes at Columbia, and vice-versa), we believe that Barnard deserves its own spot on this list for a number of reasons. It’s an all-women's school that’s a member of the Seven Sisters colleges that’s completely independent governed. Barnard students also have the ability to take courses at Juilliard and the Jewish Theological Seminary, though Barnard itself has incredibly notable departments in the liberal arts and sciences, with some unique creative major options like dance and drama, .
Location: New York, NY
Undergraduates: ~840
In a similar neighborhood as NYU’s, but with a much much smaller community and undergraduate enrollment, Cooper Union is where creative, ambitious students with unique intersecting interests go to thrive. All incoming undergraduates at CU receive half-tuition scholarship, which is a notable opportunity that students should be aware of when applying. It’s located in lower Manhattan and CU students tend to desire specialization in the creative sciences, notably architecture, social sciences like economics and public policy, and . CU offers students unique undergraduate opportunities, like a Bachelor of Architecture (five-year program), a Bachelor of Fine Arts, or a Bachelor of Engineering. There is also one Bachelor of Science offering in General Engineering for interested students.
Hamilton
Location: Clinton, NY
Undergraduates: ~1.8K
Hamilton is also a wonderful liberal arts school located in very upstate New York. Like, closer to Canada than Manhattan. Hamilton has no additional essay supplement(s), and is test-optional, making it an inclusive application process overall. Rather than essays or testing, they highlight the personal interview as an integral part of their admissions process. Hamilton students thrive in a less-structured and more self-directed academic environment, as Hamilton’s open curriculum is one of its unique attributes. That said, its sciences departments are notably strong and a significant portion of students are both financially and logistically supported in their and endeavors.
Vassar
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Undergraduates: ~2.5K
Vassar is in upstate New York, but barely. It’s closer to Manhattan than to Canada by a long shot. A quick train takes you into New York City, and the student population that makes up the Vassar community reflects that. Its students are highly creative and passionate about investigating the liberal arts. In addition, the school’s strong international relations, various language and culture departments, and science departments all offer incredibly rigorous and intensive academic experiences for students with a variety of interests. The campus itself is also one of the more picturesque we’ve ever experienced--exactly what comes to mind when you think of a “cozy campus.”
University of Rochester
Location: Rochester, NY
Undergraduates: ~6K
The school really emphasizes a focus on innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, which makes sense given the bountiful resources and facilities that dot the campus and its surrounding area. Not to mention that over 75% of its undergraduates participate in hard or social science research of some kind during their time there. The school has been recognized by numerous entities and organizations for its students and their research innovations and advances. The school also has an open curriculum, meaning students can truly choose their own adventure, both academically and personally.
Syracuse
Location: Syracuse, NY
Undergraduates: ~15K
We had to include Syracuse on here because of its incredible reputation for school spirit, enthusiastic student body, and rigorous academic reputation (which has only gotten more intensive over the last 5-10 years!). The school houses a wide variety of renowned undergraduate academic focuses, like its journalism or various BFA programs. While Syracuse is very far upstate (closer to Canada category), the small city has an exciting and busy energy and lots of research and off-campus internship and work opportunities. It’s an all-inclusive type of college experience where students who want to cheer their (NCAA Division 1) teams on with enthusiasm while pursuing their academic area of interest at a prestigious institution. It’s the best of many worlds, and students love it for that reason.
Let us know if you need some assistance navigating the vast array of New York schools by .