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

30 Ranked Colleges
3,900 Degrees Awarded
$19,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor's in New York

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York” ranking - to help you make that decision.

With 559,661 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, liberal arts general studies is the 1st most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across New York, there were 20,887 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,728 and $15,736 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 3,900 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,973 and $22,589 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York” ranking looked at 30 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts general studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the liberal arts general studies 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 General Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

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

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

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in New York

#1

Excelsior University

Albany, New York

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Excelsior University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York. This large school is located in Albany, New York, and it awarded 1,445 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Excelsior University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Excelsior University

#2

The Graduate Center, CUNY

New York, New York
#11 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The Graduate Center, CUNY. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. The Graduate Center, CUNY is a medium-sized public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 54 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The Graduate Center also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list, coming in at #11.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at The Graduate Center

#3

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, New York

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SUNY Cortland. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Located in Cortland, New York, this medium-sized public school handed out 42 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

SUNY Cortland did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. It costs about $18,705 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend SUNY Cortland.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at SUNY Cortland

#4

Maria College of Albany

Albany, New York
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Maria College of Albany. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Located in Albany, New York, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

Maria College of Albany did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. The estimated yearly cost for Maria College of Albany is $12,995 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Maria College of Albany

#5

The City College of New York

New York, New York

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The City College of New York. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. CCNY is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 104 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

CCNY did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. It costs about $2,385 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend CCNY.

Full CCNY Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#6

SUNY New Paltz

New Paltz, New York

SUNY New Paltz did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking, coming in at #6. SUNY New Paltz is located in New Paltz, New York and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, SUNY New Paltz has also earned the #19 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SUNY New Paltz is $17,171 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full SUNY New Paltz Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#7

Purchase College

Purchase, New York

Purchase College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. Purchase College is a small public school situated in Purchase, New York. It awarded 120 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Purchase College also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list, coming in at #17. It costs about $18,326 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend Purchase College.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Purchase College

#8

SUNY Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, New York

With a ranking of #8, SUNY Plattsburgh did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. This medium-sized school is located in Plattsburgh, New York, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

SUNY Plattsburgh did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. It costs about $15,845 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend SUNY Plattsburgh.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full SUNY Plattsburgh Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#9

Buffalo State

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo State landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Buffalo, New York, and it awarded 126 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Buffalo State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #24 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. It costs about $12,960 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend Buffalo State.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Buffalo State

#10

Baruch College

New York, New York

Baruch College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Located in New York, New York, this fairly large public school handed out 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Baruch, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $3,562 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend Baruch College.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Baruch College

#11

College of Staten Island CUNY

Staten Island, New York

College of Staten Island CUNY landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. CSI is located in Staten Island, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 36 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

The yearly cost to attend CSI is $5,118 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at CSI

John Jay College of Criminal Justice came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. Located in New York, New York, this fairly large public school awarded 12 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend John Jay College of Criminal Justice is $2,532 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

#13

Medgar Evers College

Brooklyn, New York

Medgar Evers College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Medgar is a public institution located in Brooklyn, New York. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Medgar is $5,507 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Medgar

#14

St. Joseph's College - New York

Brooklyn, New York

With a ranking of #14, St. Joseph’s College - New York did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Located in Brooklyn, New York, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 41 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, SJC has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $16,360 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend St. Joseph’s College - New York.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at SJC

#15

St. Francis College

Brooklyn Heights, New York

St. Francis College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts 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 arts degrees in 2019-2020.

SFC also took the #6 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $18,236 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend SFC.

Full St. Francis College Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#16

Roberts Wesleyan College

Rochester, New York

With a ranking of #16, Roberts Wesleyan College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Rochester, New York is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Roberts Wesleyan College is $23,569 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Roberts Wesleyan College

#17

Russell Sage College

Troy, New York

Russell Sage College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Troy, New York is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

Russel Sage also took the #23 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $23,337 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend Russel Sage.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Russell Sage College Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#18

The College of Saint Rose

Albany, New York

The College of Saint Rose ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. The College of Saint Rose is located in Albany, New York and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

Saint Rose also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list, coming in at #20. It costs about $22,754 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend The College of Saint Rose.

Full Saint Rose Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#19

Daemen College

Amherst, New York

Daemen College ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Daemen College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Amherst, New York. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $17,928 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend Daemen College.

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%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Daemen College

#20

The King's College

New York, New York

The King’s College ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. Located in New York, New York, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 80 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

TKC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. It costs about $34,099 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend TKC.

Full The King’s College Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#21

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, New York

Rochester Institute of Technology ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. RIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Rochester, New York. It awarded 148 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, RIT has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. The yearly cost to attend RIT is $33,167 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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.

Full RIT Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#22 in overall quality

With a ranking of #22, St John’s University - New York did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. St John’s University - New York is a large school located in Queens, New York that handed out 20 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

STJ not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list. The estimated yearly cost for STJ is $27,130 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

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

#23

Pace University - New York

New York, New York

Pace University - New York did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking, coming in at #23. Pace University is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Pace University also took the #16 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $29,707 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend Pace University - New York.

The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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 General Studies at Pace University

#24

The New School

New York, New York

With a ranking of #24, The New School did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York list. New York, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 116 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, New School University has also earned the #25 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $43,334 for new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend New School University.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at New School University

#25

Sarah Lawrence College

Bronxville, New York

Sarah Lawrence College landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York ranking. Sarah Lawrence College is a small school located in Bronxville, New York that handed out 316 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, Sarah Lawrence has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Sarah Lawrence is $36,422 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts 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 student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Sarah Lawrence

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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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