What Others Say About SUNY
Ratings and Rankings
What do they mean? How should you use them? Simply stated, our summary of outside opinions and guidelines will help you develop your own college search criteria to choose a campus that is right for you. Remember, some of the best aspects of your college experience are measured by fit and feel, not by numbers and rankings. So, we gathered past and present perspectives that highlight the diversity of SUNY campuses and their surrounding communities. Here are few that caught our eye...
For more details about SUNY campus ratings and rankings, visit individual campus Web sites.
Chronicle of Higher Education (2010)
- Buffalo, Binghamton and Delhi named "Great Colleges to Work For"
Fashionista.com (2011)
- FIT ranked #2 on 2011 list of the Top 20 Fashion Schools in the U.S.
Fiske Guide to Colleges*
- Binghamton named "premier public university in the Northeast"
- Binghamton, Geneseo and Stony Brook named "Best Buy" schools
Forbes Magazine
- America's Best College Buys - Albany, Binghamton, ESF and Stony Brook
- America's Best Public Colleges - Albany, Binghamton, ESF and Stony Brook
- Buffalo's School of Management ranked 48th among U.S. business schools providing best return on investment for the cost of a MBA degree
- ESF ranked #3 on 2010 list of the 20 best colleges for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
Categories of Recognition- 100 Best Values Among Public Universities
- 100 Values in Higher Education for Out-of-State Applicants
Albany, Binghamton (#1 best value in nation for out-of-state applicants - 2007, 2009 and 2011), Brockport, Buffalo, Cortland, Fredonia, Geneseo (#1 best value in nation for out-of- state applicants - 2008; #2 best value in nation for out-of- state applicants - 2011), New Paltz, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Purchase and Stony Brook
National Geographic (2007)
- Ranked New Paltz as a top "Mountain Adventure Town"
Parade Magazine - A Sunday Newspaper Supplement (2010)
- Geneseo named to the "A-List" of 20 small public schools in the nation
Peace Corps (2008)
- Binghamton included on top 25 list of major volunteer-producing medium-size colleges and universities
President's Higher Education Community Service
- ESF (2008) and Geneseo (2010) recognized by the federal government for its commitment to volunteering, service learning, and civic engagement
Princeton Review (for-profit group not connected to Princeton University)*
- Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Geneseo, Purchase and Stony Brook listed among "Best Colleges"
- Albany, Binghamton, Brockport, Buffalo, Fredonia, Geneseo, New Paltz, Oswego, Purchase and Stony Brook listed among "Best Northeastern Colleges"
- Binghamton was recognized in the following categories: 6th Best Value for Public Universities; "Green Honor Roll" for campus environmental policies, practices and academic offerings; "Ivy League academics and a good social experience at a state school price"; 17th for "more to do on campus"; student newspaper recognized as one of the nation's best
- Buffalo and Stony Brook ranked in top 20 for most diverse population
- ESF listed among the Guide to 286 Green Colleges for its eco-friendly campus, sustainability, "green" majors and "green" job placement
- Purchase ranked 11th in top 20 for great college theatre
Sierra Club (2009)
- ESF named as a "Cool School" for its campus environmental practices, green initiatives, and quality of sustainability-oriented education
Treehugger.com
- ESF ranked as one of the 10 best environmental programs in the nation
TurfNet Magazine (2007)
- Delhi named #14 among best degree programs in turf management
U.S. News and World Report*
These SUNY campuses...
Albany, Binghamton, Brockport, Buffalo, Buffalo State, Cobleskill, Cortland, Delhi, ESF, Farmingdale, Fredonia, Geneseo, New Paltz, Old Westbury, Oneonta, Oswego, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Purchase and Stony Brook
...were recognized by U.S. News and World Report in the following categories:
- A-Plus Schools for B-Plus Students (ESF)
- America's Best Colleges (public universities and colleges; public and private universities)
- Best Buy Colleges in Northeast
- Best Comprehensive Colleges - Bachelor's/North (all tiers)
- Best National Universities (includes both public and private institutions)
- Best Regional Universities in the North (Geneseo #2, New Paltz #7, Oneonta #9 and Fredonia #10 for 2011)
- Best Universities - Master's
- Best Universities Public or Private/North (all tiers)
- Graduate Programs - 14 of Albany's programs are in the Nation's Top 25 for 2011
- Great Schools, Great Prices
- Least Amount of Debt - Binghamton and Buffalo are the only two schools in New York State, public or private, to be ranked as a place where students graduate with the least amount of debt for 2011
- North Region universities with strong commitment to undergraduate teaching - Geneseo ranked #1 for 2011)
- Notable Programs for Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects
- One of the Most Selective Public Universities in Nation
- Public and Private Universities in the North Offering Bachelor's and Master's Degree Programs
- Science-oriented colleges in the Northeast
- Top 45 Baccalaureate Colleges in North
- Top 50 Public National Universities
- Top 120 National Universities
- Top Primary Care Training Programs
- Top Public National Universities
- Top Value National Universities
- Up-and -Comers - Binghamton ranked 11 th for 2011 (reflects institutions nominated by college administrators as having made the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus or facilities)
Wall Street Journal
- Stony Brook ranked 8th among public universities with students enrolling in elite graduate programs
Washington Monthly
- ESF ranked #26 among the nation's top service-oriented colleges and universities (2010)
- Geneseo ranked in numerous categories among 551 schools. These include 7th among master's universities; 11th for the number of alumni who go on to serve in the Peace Corps - relative to school size; and 11th in the research category for the number of its graduates who go on to receive doctorates - relative to school size. (2010)
- North Country Community College named #1 Best Community College in New York and #22 Best Community College in the United States (2010)
*SUNY campuses are consistently recognized in a variety of categories, and many campuses are regularly profiled in these annual reports. The rankings published here reflect 2008 - 2011 (and 2007 where noted).










