So, You Want to Go to School in New York?

By Barbara Connolly, JD, CEP

Founder, College Choice Counseling

New York offers an incredible variety of college experiences, and some of the best options extend well beyond the New York City area. Across the state, you’ll find excellent colleges and universities that combine strong academics and student outcomes with vibrant campus life, excellent study-abroad opportunities, generous financial aid, including merit scholarships at many schools, and strong career advising and internship support.

Our list isn’t limited to the best-known, “highest-ranked,” or most selective schools. We’ve included colleges of different sizes, settings, and levels of selectivity, including some terrific schools that may not yet be on your radar. Each offers something distinctive, and many can provide an excellent education and strong value for students coming from outside New York.

Let’s take a look at some of our favorite possibilities, in alphabetical order.

1. Barnard College

Location: Manhattan – New York, New York

Size: 3,200+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~9%

Financial Aid: Average need-based aid for students is $68,000+ (35% of all students receive it).

Campus and Student Life: Barnard is a women’s college, with easy access to Columbia classes and extensive outside-the-classroom opportunities in NYC.

Career Support: The career center provides strong support for internships and career pathways as well as graduate school, medical school, and fellowships.

Barnard College is best for: students looking for a combination of a supportive small liberal arts women’s college and access to a large research institution in an urban setting.

2. Binghamton University

Location: Binghamton/Vestal, NY

Size: 14,500+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~37%

Financial Aid: The university offers competitive merit scholarships, and all applicants are automatically considered for merit awards.

Campus and Student Life: Binghamton offers a traditional residential campus experience with six residential communities, extensive student organizations, Division I athletics, and numerous opportunities for study abroad and undergraduate research.

Career Support: The Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development provides extensive career and internship support, and Binghamton graduates benefit from a large alumni network.

Binghamton University is best for: students seeking strong academics, business and STEM programs, and the value of a selective public university in a traditional campus setting.

3. Colgate University

Location: Hamilton, NY

Size: ~3,100 undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~20%

Financial Aid: The university meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students and provides especially generous need-based aid for qualifying families.

Campus and Student Life: Colgate offers a traditional residential college experience in a picturesque small-town setting, with small classes, a close-knit campus community, extensive study-abroad opportunities, and Division I athletics.

Career Support: The university provides strong career advising, internship support, and access to an extensive alumni network.

Colgate University is best for: students seeking a highly selective liberal arts education, small classes, strong school spirit, and a traditional residential college experience in a beautiful small-town setting.

4. Columbia University

Location: Manhattan – New York City, New York

Size: 9,000+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~4%

Financial Aid: The university provides generous need-based aid and meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students.

Campus and Student Life: New York City is at your doorstep; the university offers hundreds of clubs and numerous outstanding global programs.

Career Support: The university provides access to an extensive and influential career network.

Columbia University is best for: students seeking world-class academics in an urban setting.

5. Cornell University

Location: Ithaca, NY

Size: 16,100+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~7%

Financial Aid: Excellent need-based aid is available for students with high financial need.

Campus and Student Life: The university offers a traditional campus with strong school spirit and extensive international study options as well as many outdoor recreation opportunities.

Career Support: The university has an extensive alumni network.

Cornell University is best for: students seeking research opportunities and outstanding engineering, business, and agriculture programs in a beautiful rural setting with a classic college town nearby.

6. Fordham University

Location: The Bronx & Manhattan – New York City, NY

Size: 10,500+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~59%

Financial Aid: The university offers significant, competitive merit scholarships.

Campus and Student Life: The two beautiful city campuses offer easy access to New York City; the university is also especially well regarded for study-abroad opportunities.

Career Support: The university offers strong connections to New York City internships and employers, with an outstanding career placement record.

Fordham University is best for: students seeking excellent business, humanities, and pre-law programs in an urban setting.

7. Hamilton College

Location: Clinton, NY

Size: ~2,000 undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~14%

Financial Aid: The college meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students and practices need-blind admission for U.S. applicants.

Campus and Student Life: Hamilton offers a close-knit residential experience on a beautiful 1,350-acre campus, with small classes, an open curriculum, and a strong emphasis on writing and communication.

Career Support: The college provides highly personalized career advising as well as extensive opportunities for internships, research, and alumni networking.

Hamilton College is best for: students seeking a highly selective liberal arts college with small classes, an open curriculum, and the flexibility to shape their own academic experience.

8. Ithaca College

Location: Ithaca, NY

Size: 4,000+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~69%

Financial Aid: The college offers good, competitive merit scholarships.

Campus and Student Life: There is an active and supportive campus life, with more than 100 student organizations and a strong performing-arts culture. Students also benefit from being in Ithaca, one of the country’s quintessential college towns, and from the presence of Cornell University nearby.

Career Support: The college provides a strong internship culture and exceptional student support.

Ithaca College is best for: students seeking excellent communications and business programs in a small-city setting in a classic college town.

9. Marist University

Location: Poughkeepsie, NY

Size: 5,500+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~57%

Financial Aid: The university offers strong, competitive merit aid.

Campus and Student Life: The university is known for its scenic Hudson River campus and is especially well regarded for small class sizes and study-abroad opportunities.

Career Support: The university offers outstanding support for internships.

Marist University is best for: students seeking excellent business and communications programs at a medium-sized school in a small-city setting near New York City.

10. New York University

Location: Manhattan – New York, New York

Size: 29,000+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~9%

Financial Aid: The university primarily offers need-based aid, with significant assistance available to students who qualify.

Campus and Student Life: Campus life is centered within the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.

Career Support: There are many opportunities to secure high-level internships and research projects.

New York University is best for: students who are eager to take advantage of top academics coupled with the opportunity to live and work in the real-world urban setting of New York City.

11. Pace University

Location: Manhattan – New York City & Pleasantville, NY

Size: ~8,000 undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~78%

Financial Aid: Pace offers substantial institutional and merit aid; 98% of first-year students receive financial aid.

Campus and Student Life: Students can choose between an urban New York City campus and a more traditional suburban campus in Westchester County, with abundant opportunities to take advantage of the cultural and professional resources of the New York metropolitan area.

Career Support: Pace places a major emphasis on career preparation, internships, and experiential learning, taking particular advantage of its extensive New York-area employer connections.

Pace University is best for: students seeking business, performing arts, health professions, or computing programs with extensive internship and career opportunities in the New York City area.

12. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Location: Troy, NY

Size: ~6,000 undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~60%

Financial Aid: RPI offers substantial merit scholarships, and first-year applicants are automatically considered for merit-based awards.

Campus and Student Life: RPI offers a technology-focused campus environment with particularly strong programs in engineering, computer science, architecture, science, and related fields. Its location in Troy places students in New York’s Capital Region, with Albany nearby.

Career Support: RPI provides extensive career advising, employer connections, internships, co-ops, and other opportunities for professional and experiential learning.

RPI is best for: students seeking a rigorous, STEM-focused education, particularly in engineering, computing, architecture, and the sciences, with extensive opportunities for hands-on learning and research.

13. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

Location: Rochester, NY

Size: ~14,000 undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~70%

Financial Aid: Every applicant is automatically considered for merit scholarships, with substantial renewable awards available to incoming first-year students.

Campus and Student Life: RIT offers a career-oriented campus environment with particularly strong programs in engineering, computing, technology, design, photography, film, and business.

Career Support: RIT’s nationally prominent cooperative education program provides students with extensive opportunities for paid, major-related professional experience before graduation.

RIT is best for: students seeking strong technology, engineering, computing, design, and career-focused programs with extensive opportunities for hands-on learning and paid professional experience.

14. Skidmore College

Location: Saratoga Springs, NY

Size: 2,700+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~21%

Financial Aid: The college offers strong need-based aid.

Campus and Student Life: The college provides an excellent academic experience on an arts-rich campus with abundant opportunities for creative students.

Career Support: There are excellent advising services available to all students.

Skidmore College is best for: students interested in strong academics, especially fine and performing arts and science programs, in a unique wooded, small-city setting.

15. St. John’s University

Location: Queens – New York City, NY

Size: ~16,000 undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~80%

Financial Aid: The university offers substantial merit scholarships. First-year applicants are automatically considered for academic merit scholarships without a separate application.

Campus and Student Life: The university’s main Queens campus provides a traditional residential college environment within New York City, with Division I athletics, extensive student organizations, and easy access to the cultural and professional opportunities of the city.

Career Support: University Career Services provides individualized advising and extensive internship and employer connections throughout the New York metropolitan area.

St. John’s University is best for: students seeking strong business, health sciences, liberal arts, and professional programs on a traditional campus with access to New York City internships and career opportunities.

16. Syracuse University

Location: Syracuse, NY

Size: 15,900+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~46%

Financial Aid: The university offers good, competitive merit scholarships.

Campus and Student Life: There is a strong athletics program and abundant school spirit; the university is also especially well regarded for study-abroad opportunities and offers hundreds of student organizations.

Career Support: The university provides access to top internship programs and an extensive alumni network.

Syracuse University is best for: students seeking excellent communications, business, architecture, and public affairs programs in a small-city setting.

17. Union College

Location: Schenectady, NY

Size: ~2,000 undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~43%

Financial Aid: Union offers generous need-based financial aid as well as competitive merit scholarships; more than 25% of students receive merit scholarships.

Campus and Student Life: Union combines the close-knit environment of a small residential liberal arts college with programs in engineering, giving students unusual flexibility across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and technical fields.

Career Support: The college provides personalized career advising, internship and professional-development support, and access to an active alumni network.

Union College is best for: students seeking a small, academically strong college that combines the liberal arts and sciences with engineering and other career-oriented programs.

18. University at Buffalo

Location: Buffalo, NY

Size: 20,000+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~69%

Financial Aid: The university offers merit scholarships, including awards specifically available to high-achieving domestic out-of-state first-year students.

Campus and Student Life: New York’s flagship public research university offers a large, diverse university experience, Division I athletics, and extensive academic, research, and extracurricular opportunities.

Career Support: Students have access to career advising, experiential learning, internships, and the employer and alumni connections of a major research university.

University at Buffalo is best for: students seeking engineering, business, health sciences, and other strong academic programs at a large research university offering excellent value.

19. University of Rochester

Location: Rochester, NY

Size: 6,000+ undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~42%

Financial Aid: The university offers competitive merit as well as need-based aid for strong applicants and meets the full demonstrated financial need of admitted students.

Campus and Student Life: The university has a collaborative campus atmosphere with outstanding undergraduate research opportunities and a flexible curriculum with no traditional core requirements; it is also especially well regarded for study-abroad opportunities.

Career Support: The university provides an outstanding career center with highly personalized career advising and exceptional pre-health advising.

University of Rochester is best for: students seeking excellent STEM, music, and health sciences programs in a suburban setting; it’s ideal for students seeking a private-school experience without necessarily paying full sticker price.

20. Vassar College

Location: Poughkeepsie, NY

Size: ~2,500 undergraduates

Acceptance Rate: ~18%

Financial Aid: The college meets full demonstrated need for applicants with high financial need.

Campus and Student Life: The beautiful residential campus offers excellent liberal arts programs and is also especially well regarded for study-abroad opportunities.

Career Support: The college boasts outstanding graduate outcomes.

Vassar College is best for: students who want an open curriculum with the flexibility to pursue diverse passions and discover new interests in a beautiful Hudson Valley setting.

Need Help Building Your College List?

Interested in learning more about the college admissions process? Contact College Choice Counseling® to discuss how we can help you build a balanced college list, strengthen your applications, and maximize your opportunities for admission.

At College Choice Counseling®, our counselors and tutors are here to help you with college counseling, college essay and application help, college application help, test prep tutoring, and academic subject tutoring.

Reach out to College Choice Counseling® — we’ll help you succeed!

About Barbara Connolly

Barbara Connolly is the Founder of College Choice Counseling®, a Certified Educational Planner (CEP), and Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). She is a former University of Michigan Ross School of Business admissions reader with over 20 years of experience guiding students and families through highly competitive college admissions.