Largest New York Private Colleges

In New York, there are a total of 1,154,005 students enrolled in higher education institutions. Of these, 610,326 attend public colleges and universities, while 543,679 are enrolled in private institutions. This comprehensive overview highlights the scale and diversity of college enrollment in New York, helping prospective students and families understand their options among the largest educational institutions.

Explore Largest New York Private Colleges with the Most Students, where 56,832 students are enrolled at New York University, making it the largest institution in terms of enrollment.

Following closely, Columbia University in the City of New York ranks second with 35,173 students, while Cornell University holds the third spot at 26,793. These institutions set the benchmark for large-scale education.

The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $60,839 and graduate tuition & fees is $39,809 for the academic year 2024-2025.

For these well-regarded Largest New York Private Colleges with the Most Students, the average acceptance rate is 47.97% and the average SAT score is 1,396, indicating a moderately selective admissions process.

Our analysis includes colleges with at least 1,000 total enrollments and excludes online universities to provide a balanced overview. For a comprehensive list of online universities, visit the largest New York private online colleges.

Comparison between Largest New York Private Colleges With The Most Students

Table. Largest New York Private Colleges With The Most Students Comparison
School NameTotal PopulationUndergraduateGraduateMenWomenOnline Enrollment
1
-
New York University New York, NYPrivate, 4-year 56,832
503
29,060
(51.13%)
27,772
(48.87%)
23,777
(41.84%)
33,055
(58.16%)
3,493
(6.15%)
2
-
Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NYPrivate, 4-year 35,173
106
9,164
(26.05%)
26,009
(73.95%)
15,887
(45.17%)
19,286
(54.83%)
1,499
(4.26%)
3
-
Cornell University Ithaca, NYPrivate, 4-year 26,793
529
16,128
(60.19%)
10,665
(39.81%)
12,696
(47.39%)
14,097
(52.61%)
527
(1.97%)
4
-
Syracuse University Syracuse, NYPrivate, 4-year 22,589
359
15,957
(70.64%)
6,632
(29.36%)
9,981
(44.19%)
12,608
(55.81%)
2,298
(10.17%)
5
-
St. John's University-New York Queens, NYPrivate, 4-year 19,389
302
15,640
(80.66%)
3,749
(19.34%)
8,275
(42.68%)
11,114
(57.32%)
981
(5.06%)
6
-
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NYPrivate, 4-year 17,098
235
14,267
(83.44%)
2,831
(16.56%)
10,952
(64.05%)
6,146
(35.95%)
540
(3.16%)
7
-
Long Island University Brookville, NYPrivate, 4-year 16,689
367
12,072
(72.34%)
4,617
(27.66%)
6,212
(37.22%)
10,477
(62.78%)
327
(1.96%)
8
-
Fordham University Bronx, NYPrivate, 4-year 16,150
3
10,582
(65.52%)
5,568
(34.48%)
6,252
(38.71%)
9,898
(61.29%)
1,147
(7.10%)
9
-
Pace University New York, NYPrivate, 4-year 13,634
458
8,038
(58.96%)
5,596
(41.04%)
5,038
(36.95%)
8,596
(63.05%)
1,127
(8.27%)
10
-
University of Rochester Rochester, NYPrivate, 4-year 11,946
214
6,580
(55.08%)
5,366
(44.92%)
5,619
(47.04%)
6,327
(52.96%)
690
(5.78%)
Average23,62913,749
(58.19%)
9,881
(41.81%)
10,469
(44.30%)
13,160
(55.70%)
1,263
(5.34%)