Hunter was ranked the nation’s No. 2 “best value” college by the Wall Street Journal as CUNY senior colleges won five of the top 10 spots on the paper’s prestigious annual list.
The ranking, developed by The Journal in partnership with College Pulse and Statista, weighs the “net price” of attending a college against the value that college adds to graduates’ median salary compared to those of high-school graduates. Baruch College earned the top spot while City and Brooklyn colleges were named fourth and fifth and Queens College eighth.
“We are delighted but not surprised to see that CUNY colleges have once again been recognized for their unmatched ability to provide a high-quality education and degrees that quickly and effectively pay for themselves,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY’s powerful combination of quality and affordability continues to help students of all backgrounds achieve their personal and professional dreams.”
To estimate the time needed to defray the degree’s cost, the Wall Street Journal started with CUNY’s tuition, which is $6,900 per year at senior colleges for in-state students, and other costs of attendance such as room, board, books and supplies, along with grants, scholarships and financial aid; multiplied that number by four years, and divided it by the value added to a graduate’s salary.
The five colleges selected were also among nine CUNY schools named by Forbes magazine last month in its list of “The 25 Colleges with the Highest Payoff,” which tabbed schools that offer the best return on investment. The other four schools included were York College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Lehman College, and College of Staten Island.
The Wall Street Journal and Forbes both used research and analysis by public-policy think tank Third Way, which has singled out CUNY colleges among the nation’s best in providing a pathway to economic mobility. In a 2022 report, Third Way found colleges that enrolled the highest proportion of students of low- and moderate-income backgrounds and scored the schools based on the time needed for students to earn back their education.
