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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in New York

22 Ranked Colleges
3,267 Degrees Awarded
$22,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in New York

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Liberal Arts is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 365,980 degrees were awarded to students with this major.

Across New York, there were 10,945 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 3,267 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,973 and $22,589 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York” ranking, we looked at 22 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality liberal arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts Schools

The liberal studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York.

Top 22 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in New York

#1

Excelsior University

Albany, New York
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Excelsior University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Excelsior University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Albany, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,442 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, Excelsior University has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking.

Full Excelsior University Liberal Arts Report

#2

The Graduate Center, CUNY

New York, New York
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 22 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York that were part of this year’s ranking, The Graduate Center, CUNY landed the #2 spot on the list. The Graduate Center, CUNY is a medium-sized public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 54 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, The Graduate Center has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full The Graduate Center, CUNY Liberal Arts Report

#3

Maria College of Albany

Albany, New York
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Maria College of Albany. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York. Located in Albany, New York, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, Maria College of Albany has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $12,995 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students per year to attend Maria College of Albany.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Maria College of Albany

#4

The City College of New York

New York, New York
#10 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The City College of New York. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York. Located in New York, New York, this fairly large public school awarded 104 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, CCNY has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $2,385 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students per year to attend CCNY.

Read more about Liberal Arts at The City College of New York

#5

SUNY New Paltz

New Paltz, New York
#15 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend SUNY New Paltz. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York. SUNY New Paltz is a medium-sized school located in New Paltz, New York that handed out 7 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

SUNY New Paltz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. It costs about $17,171 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students per year to attend SUNY New Paltz.

The low student loan default rate of 3.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full SUNY New Paltz Liberal Arts Report

#6

Purchase College

Purchase, New York
#13 in overall quality

Purchase College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking, coming in at #6. Purchase College is a small school located in Purchase, New York that handed out 103 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Purchase College, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $18,326 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students per year to attend Purchase College.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Purchase College

#7

Baruch College

New York, New York
#14 in overall quality

Baruch College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. Baruch is a fairly large school located in New York, New York that handed out 21 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, Baruch has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Baruch is $3,562 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Baruch College

#8

College of Staten Island CUNY

Staten Island, New York
#20 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, College of Staten Island CUNY did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. This fairly large school is located in Staten Island, New York, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

CSI also took the #20 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $5,118 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students per year to attend CSI.

Full College of Staten Island CUNY Liberal Arts Report

#9

Medgar Evers College

Brooklyn, New York
#22 in overall quality

Medgar Evers College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. Medgar Evers College is located in Brooklyn, New York and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 32 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

Medgar did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #22 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. The yearly cost to attend Medgar is $5,507 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Full Medgar Liberal Arts Report

#10

St. Joseph's College - New York

Brooklyn, New York
#11 in overall quality

St. Joseph’s College - New York ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. This medium-sized school is located in Brooklyn, New York, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SJC, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for St. Joseph’s College - New York is $16,360 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at SJC

#11

St. Francis College

Brooklyn Heights, New York
#6 in overall quality

St. Francis College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. This small school is located in Brooklyn Heights, New York, and it awarded 31 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFC, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SFC is $18,236 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

Full St. Francis College Liberal Arts Report

#12

Russell Sage College

Troy, New York
#18 in overall quality

Russell Sage College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Russell Sage College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Troy, New York. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Russel Sage also took the #18 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $23,337 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend Russell Sage College.

The low student loan default rate of 3.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Russel Sage

#13

The College of Saint Rose

Albany, New York
#16 in overall quality

The College of Saint Rose came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. The College of Saint Rose is a small school located in Albany, New York that handed out 13 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Saint Rose also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list, coming in at #16. The estimated yearly cost for Saint Rose is $22,754 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at The College of Saint Rose

#14

Daemen College

Amherst, New York
#21 in overall quality

Daemen College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking, coming in at #14. This small school is located in Amherst, New York, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Daemen College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #21 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. The estimated yearly cost for Daemen College is $17,928 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Daemen College Liberal Arts Report

#15

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, New York
#4 in overall quality

Rochester Institute of Technology came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. This fairly large school is located in Rochester, New York, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, RIT has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $33,167 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend RIT.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at RIT

#17 in overall quality

St John’s University - New York landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. This large school is located in Queens, New York, and it awarded 20 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

STJ did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #17 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. The yearly cost to attend STJ is $27,130 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Read more about Liberal Arts at St John’s University - New York

#17

Pace University - New York

New York, New York
#12 in overall quality

Pace University - New York ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. This fairly large school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Pace University also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list, coming in at #12. It costs about $29,707 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend Pace University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Pace University - New York

#18

The New School

New York, New York
#19 in overall quality

The New School did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking, coming in at #18. Located in New York, New York, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 116 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

New School University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #19 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. It costs about $43,334 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend New School University.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at The New School

#19

Sarah Lawrence College

Bronxville, New York
#8 in overall quality

Sarah Lawrence College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking, coming in at #19. Located in Bronxville, New York, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 316 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

Sarah Lawrence did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. The estimated yearly cost for Sarah Lawrence is $36,422 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Sarah Lawrence College

#20

New York University

New York, New York
#2 in overall quality

New York University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. New York University is a large school located in New York, New York that handed out 566 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NYU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $39,772 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal studies students per year to attend NYU.

The low student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Liberal Arts at NYU

#21

Union College New York

Schenectady, New York
#7 in overall quality

Union College New York ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Union College New York is a small school located in Schenectady, New York that handed out 32 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Union College also took the #7 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $34,779 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend Union College.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Union College

#3 in overall quality

Hobart and William Smith Colleges landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. Hobart and William Smith Colleges is located in Geneva, New York and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

The Colleges not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. The yearly cost to attend Hobart and William Smith Colleges is $32,940 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Hobart and William Smith Colleges Liberal Arts Report

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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