Public colleges in New York state are among the institutions that give students the highest return on investment when only the cost of education is taken into account, according to a 2025 ranking from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Among schools in the SUNY (State University of New York) and CUNY (City University of New York) systems, SUNY Maritime College, Baruch College and Farmingdale State College performed best. The researchers compared students’ estimated earnings over the 10 years after they began their studies with the cost of attending, factoring in tuition, fees, living expenses and the financial aid students received.
The highest 10-year return on investment among public state colleges was recorded at SUNY Maritime College, at $340,000, with an average annual cost of attendance of $22,888. Baruch College, part of the CUNY system, came in second with $329,000. The average annual cost of study there is just $657, in part because of the large share of students who commute to class. Third place went to Farmingdale State College, where the estimated return was $274,000 and the average annual cost was $6,146. The school’s acceptance rate is 63%.
In the ranking of all four-year colleges in New York state, however, the top spots went to institutions outside the SUNY and CUNY systems. First place went to the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, with a 10-year return estimated at $492,000. The school specializes in areas including pharmacy, clinical laboratory science, public health and biomedical sciences. The United States Merchant Marine Academy came in second at $453,000, and Columbia University was third, with a return estimated at $364,000.
At the opposite end of the ranking were mainly art schools. The Manhattan School of Music had an estimated negative return of $134,000, the School of Visual Arts had a negative return of $92,000, and the Juilliard School had a negative return of $51,000.
The analysis also showed differences between the short-term and long-term financial benefits of college. Ten years after starting their studies, SUNY Stony Brook and the University at Buffalo delivered a higher return on investment than New York University, by about $44,000 and $9,000, respectively. After 15 years, however, the situation reversed, and NYU graduates had a higher financial return despite the school’s higher cost of education. According to the authors of the analysis, this is due in part to differences in graduates’ later earnings. The researchers also noted that graduates of public SUNY and CUNY schools are more likely to be prepared for work in the regional job market, while graduates of other institutions are more likely to take jobs in different parts of the country.
Ed. JŁ
Source: Nowy Dziennik
