Why This Matters
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93 INSTITUTIONS OFFER TWO-YEAR ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAMS IN NEW YORK
Data from College Navigator reveals that there are 93 schools that offer two-year associate degree programs in New York.
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$5,746 AVERAGE IN-DISTRICT TUITION AND FEES
According to College Board, the average New Yorker paid approximately $5,746 in tuition and fees for public, in-district community college.
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80.6% OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID
The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that 370,718 students attending two-year institutions during the 2020-21 school year received some type of financial aid.
Our Research
This list features some of the best community colleges in New York. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. We included small, midsize, and large colleges as well as trade, technical, and vocational programs. Next, we compared this comprehensive list to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
The colleges on our list are accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education Accreditation (MSCHE), a reputable organization that examines objectives, quality and overall effectiveness of education programs in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
We evaluated each school on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
Online College Programs That Might Interest You
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
The Top 50 Community Colleges in New York
Discover More Options
What You Should Know About Graduating From Community College in New York
As you prepare for community college, you should keep in mind your ideal salary. The most recent data from May 2021 shows that the highest-paying careers for associate degree holders in New York are nuclear technicians, radiation therapists, nuclear medicine technologists, funeral home managers, and MRI technologists.
If you’re looking for a job in New York, you might have better luck if you focus on careers that are in high demand. Occupations projected to have the most openings for associate degree holders in the upcoming decade are paralegals and legal assistants; preschool teachers; life, physical, and social science technicians; radiologic technicians; and computer network support specialists.
Another important factor to consider when deciding on a career field is which occupations are expected to decline. The jobs that are projected to undergo a large drop in employment for associate degree holders in New York include nuclear technicians, desktop publishers, and mechanical drafters.
What’s Next?
As you review your options for community college, be sure to consider the financial aid opportunities available to you. Below is a list of federal and state resources that connect associate degree students to scholarships, grants, and loans in New York.
- New York State Higher Education Services Corporation. This corporation supports New York residents looking to fund their education by providing information about scholarship programs, state loans, federal grants, and work-study opportunities.
- Federal Student Aid. Each year, over $120 billion of financial aid is awarded by the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid. Students can check if they qualify for this aid through the FAFSA4caster, and they can apply by completing the online FAFSA form.
- CareerOneStop. This resource, sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lets students quickly find scholarships available for their degree level and state. It also connects students to helpful information about application requirements and deadlines.