NYC's Best Colleges: 23 Make Forbes List

NEW YORK, NY — Just in time to ruin your summer break with a bunch of practical higher-ed stats to which you should probably pay some attention, Forbes Magazine released its 10th annual list of "America's Top Colleges" on Wednesday.

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Unlike a few of the other college rankers out there, Forbes — money-minded as it is — ranks schools based not on "prestige" but on the "direct benefits” they provide to students, using metrics such as average alumni salary and student-loan debt to calculate which schools will give you the best bang for your buck.

Of 650 colleges and universities across America that made the 2017 list, both public and private, 65 are located in New York state and 23 in New York City proper. (Scroll down for the city's list.)

Nationwide, Harvard University in Massachusetts was given top honors, moving up from the No. 4 spot in 2016 and ousting last year's winner, Stanford University in California, from the No. 1 spot.

Here are the Top 10 colleges in the country right now, according to Forbes:

1. Harvard University
2. Stanford University
3. Yale University
4. Princeton University
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6. California Institute of Technology
7. University of Pennsylvania
8. Duke University
9. Brown University
10. Pomona College

In New York specifically, Forbes has named Columbia University in Upper Manhattan as the best college in both the city and state.

Want to learn more about the magazine's methodology? Here's a full explainer. And below, the results for NYC.

1. Columbia University (No. 14 nationwide)

• Campus: Harlem, Manhattan
• Cost: $69,084 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $48,926 per year

2. New York University (No. 52 nationwide)

• Campus: East Village/West Village, Manhattan
• Cost: $68,400 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $30,319 per year

3. Barnard College (No. 54 nationwide)

• Campus: Harlem, Manhattan
• Cost: $65,261 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $39,328

4. Cooper Union (No. 62 nationwide)

• Campus: East Village, Manhattan
• Cost: $62,710 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $16,482

5. Yeshiva University (No. 75 nationwide)

• Campus: Washington Heights, Manhattan
• Cost: $57,355 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $26,065

6. Fordham University (No. 132 nationwide)

• Campus: The Bronx
• Cost: $67,457 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $25,564

7. Manhattan College (No. 181 nationwide)

• Campus: The Bronx
• Cost: $56,210 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $18,586

8. CUNY, Baruch College (No. 200 nationwide)

• Campus: Gramercy, Manhattan
• Cost: $36,819 per year
• Type: Public
• Average aid: $6,977

9. New School (No. 261 nationwide)

• Campus: Chelsea, Manhattan
• Cost: $66,326 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $17,299

10. CUNY, Queens College (No. 290 nationwide)

• Campus: Pomonok, Queens
• Cost: $34,024 per year
• Type: Public
• Average aid: $7,321

11. CUNY, Hunter College (No. 328 nationwide)

• Campus: Upper East Side, Manhattan
• Cost: $28,556 per year
• Type: Public
• Average aid: $7,440

12. CUNY, Brooklyn College (No. 343 nationwide)

• Campus: Midwood, Brooklyn
• Cost: $34,847 per year
• Type: Public
• Average aid: $8,157

13. Wagner College (No. 348 nationwide)

• Campus: Staten Island
• Cost: $58,615 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $27,171

14. St. Joseph's College (No. 385 nationwide)

• Campus: Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
• Cost: $35,113 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $12,844

15. Pace University (No. 387 nationwide)

• Campus: Financial District, Manhattan
• Cost: $62,241 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $25,745

16. The City College of New York (No. 389 nationwide)

• Campus: Harlem, Manhattan
• Cost: $35,224 per year
• Type: Public
• Average aid: $7,861

17. Pratt Institute (No. 400 nationwide)

• Campus: Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
• Cost: $62,882 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $19,463

18. CUNY, College of Staten Island (No. 451 nationwide)

• Campus: Staten Island
• Cost: $37,241 per year
• Type: Public
• Average aid: $7,550

19. St. John's University (No. 464 nationwide)

• Campus: Tribeca, Manhattan
• Cost: $57,427 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $24,362

20. CUNY, John Jay College of Criminal Justice (No. 466 nationwide)

• Campus: Upper West Side, Manhattan
• Cost: $40,179 per year
• Type: Public
• Average aid: $7,397

21. Touro College (No. 511 nationwide)

• Campus: Flatiron, Manhattan
• Cost: $33,230 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $8,019

22. CUNY, Lehman College (No. 525 nationwide)

• Campus: The Bronx
• Cost: $34,921 per year
• Type: Public
• Average aid: $9,703

23. St. Francis College (No. 570 nationwide)

• Campus: Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
• Cost: $41,800 per year
• Type: Private not-for-profit
• Average aid: $12,242

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story excluded the No. 7 school on the list, Manhattan College in the Bronx. Sorry, guys!