2026 Best Private Colleges in New York

Name: 2026 Best Private Colleges in New York (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

71 New York schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Private Colleges ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 71 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Private Colleges

Cornell University

Ithaca

Acceptance rate

8.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,286

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#2 Best Private Colleges

Columbia University School of General Studies

New York

Acceptance rate

4.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$59,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

N/A

#3 Best Private Colleges

Barnard College

New York

Acceptance rate

8.0%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,734

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,000

#4 Best Private Colleges

New York University

New York

Acceptance rate

9.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$53,770

Avg. Cost after Aid

$51,000

#5 Best Private Colleges

Colgate University

Hamilton

Acceptance rate

11.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$61,594

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#6 Best Private Colleges

Hamilton College

Clinton

Acceptance rate

11.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$59,380

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#7 Best Private Colleges

Vassar College

Poughkeepsie

Acceptance rate

17.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$61,940

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#8 Best Private Colleges

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

New York

Acceptance rate

19.1%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$44,550

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,199

#9 Best Private Colleges

University of Rochester

Rochester

Acceptance rate

35.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$58,276

Avg. Cost after Aid

$40,000

#10 Best Private Colleges

Union College

Schenectady

Acceptance rate

43.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$61,308

Avg. Cost after Aid

$7,251

#11 Best Private Colleges

Syracuse University

Syracuse

Acceptance rate

41.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,920

Avg. Cost after Aid

$44,000

#12 Best Private Colleges

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy

Acceptance rate

58.5%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$40,000

#13 Best Private Colleges

Skidmore College

Saratoga Springs

Acceptance rate

22.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$59,064

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#14 Best Private Colleges

Fordham University

Bronx

Acceptance rate

56.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$54,730

Avg. Cost after Aid

$38,000

#15 Best Private Colleges

Yeshiva University

New York

Acceptance rate

63.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$44,300

Avg. Cost after Aid

$47,560

#16 Best Private Colleges

Marist College

Poughkeepsie

Acceptance rate

56.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$40,675

Avg. Cost after Aid

$38,000

#17 Best Private Colleges

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Albany

Acceptance rate

59.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$36,840

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#18 Best Private Colleges

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Geneva

Acceptance rate

57.3%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$58,900

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#19 Best Private Colleges

St. Lawrence University

Canton

Acceptance rate

58.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$59,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#20 Best Private Colleges

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester

Acceptance rate

71.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$50,225

Avg. Cost after Aid

$35,000

#21 Best Private Colleges

Siena College

Loudonville

Acceptance rate

77.6%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$39,925

Avg. Cost after Aid

$33,000

#22 Best Private Colleges

Clarkson University

Potsdam

Acceptance rate

77.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$53,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$31,000

#23 Best Private Colleges

St. John Fisher University

Rochester

Acceptance rate

67.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,352

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#24 Best Private Colleges

Molloy University

Rockville Centre

Acceptance rate

75.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$32,900

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#25 Best Private Colleges

Ithaca College

Ithaca

Acceptance rate

69.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$46,610

Avg. Cost after Aid

$35,000

2026 Best Private Colleges in New York

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