Best colleges to attend if you want to be a billionaire
A quarter of the 813 American citizens on Forbes’ billionaire’s list got their undergraduate degrees from one of just a dozen colleges.
unbranded – Lifestyle
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.
New York in the spotlight
72 colleges in New York state made the list, including six CUNY and 17 SUNY schools.
New York’s top-rated colleges
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.
Top-rated private colleges (4 stars and above)
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
CUNY colleges (4 stars or higher)
- 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
SUNY colleges (4 stars or higher)
- 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
Acceptance rates
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%
Estimated full price (2025–2026)
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
Net price after average aid
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
Most expensive schools (after aid)
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
Graduation rates
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%
How Money created the rankings
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.