US News Ranks 22 SUNY Schools Among Best In Nation

Albany -- Twenty two State University of New York (SUNY) schools earned top rankings in categories including top 50 public national universities, campus diversity, and least student debt in the 2008 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S.News & World Report.

SUNY New Paltz was chosen as the “Hottest Small State School” in the nation by the 2008 Kaplan/Newsweek “How to Get into College” Guide. The school was recognized for its academic excellence and its appeal to students seeking entry into the top schools in the country.

 

In the recently released U.S.News rankings, the Binghamton University is ranked 37^th among public national universities and 82nd overall for national universities. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) ranked 38^th among public national universities, and 85^th on the roster of best national universities, which includes both public and private institutions. In the “Great Schools, Great Prices” category for national universities, ESF ranked 33^rd.

 

SUNY Old Westbury is the No. 1 school in the country for campus diversity. University at Albany ranked in the top 10 of national universities with the least debt for its students.

 

“These national rankings reflect the quality, accessibility, affordability and diversity of a SUNY education,” said Dr. John B. Clark, interim Chancellor of the State University of New York. “SUNY schools provide the people of New York and the country with an education of the highest quality, with the broadest possible access, fully representative of all segments of the population.”

 

Stony Brook University also placed 45^th among public national universities and 96^th among “best national universities.” The University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is ranked 57^th among doctoral degree-granting institutions. Additionally, Stony Brook’s engineering program tied at 70^th in that same category and was one of only 12 public universities cited on the list of “academic programs to look for” in the category “undergraduate research/creative projects”—in the company of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, the University of California-Berkeley and MIT.

 

SUNY Old Westbury was ranked the top school in the country for campus diversity among liberal arts colleges. The ranking is based on the statistical likelihood of any student interacting with students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. U.S. News cited 29 percent of the Old Westbury campus as African American.

 

The University at Albany was the only New York school ranked in the category of least debt for its students--64 percent of UAlbany students have an average debt of $11,856.

 

Other SUNY campuses were ranked among the best in a range of categories.

 

• Stony Brook University ranked 45^th among public national universities and its engineering program is among the top 100 in the country.

 

• SUNY Fredonia is rated as one of the top 12 Public Universities in the North and ranked 51st among Best Comprehensive Universities in the North.

 

·     Eight SUNY schools are ranked in the nation’s Top 100 Best Universities with master’s programs (North): Geneseo (11^th), Alfred University, which includes the New York State College of Ceramics (14), SUNY New Paltz (38), SUNY Fredonia (51 tie), College at Oneonta (57tie), SUNY Cortland (70 tie), SUNY Brockport (80 tie) and SUNY Oswego (85 tie).

 

·      Geneseo ranked No. 2 among the “Top Public Universities—Master’s” in the North.

 

• Maritime College, SUNY Delhi, Alfred State and Farmingdale State College ranked in the Top 45 best baccalaureate colleges in the North. This is the first time SUNY Delhi has appeared in the U.S. News Rankings.

 

• SUNY Cobleskill is one of the top 100 Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the North.

 

• SUNY Potsdam is among the top 100 public and private regional universities in the North for the ninth consecutive year.

 

• The University at Buffalo ranked 118 overall among national universities.

 

• Purchase College ranked in the fourth tier of the Best Liberal Arts Colleges.

 

The annual rankings by U.S. News groups schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. They will be published in the magazine’s August 27 issue, on newsstands Monday, August 20, and are available online today at www.usnews.com/colleges.

 

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 417,500 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. 

 

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