NYC Gazette

CUNY colleges have been recognized for their effectiveness in driving social mobility and overall quality. In its 2025 Best Colleges rankings, U.S. News & World Report named The City College of New York as No. 10 (tied) for social mobility among national universities. Six CUNY senior colleges ranked among the top 10 north region universities for social mobility, with Hunter College at No. 1.

The other CUNY schools are Baruch College (2), Lehman College (tied at 4), John Jay College of Criminal Justice (6), Queens College (7), and Brooklyn College (8). Also named on the list are York College (69) and College of Staten Island (82). New York City College of Technology ranked No. 18 on the list of best colleges for social mobility in the north region.

“These rankings by U.S. News further attest to CUNY’s superlative strength as an engine of social mobility and a system of schools that provide high-quality educational experiences,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “We are proud to help all students, regardless of their economic background, pursue and achieve their professional dreams.”

When calculating its rankings, U.S. News groups institutions according to the degrees they offer and award, naming the top national universities, regional universities, regional colleges, and liberal arts colleges. The distinctions are based on the number of undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs offered by a college or university as well as the institution’s geographic location (North, South, Midwest, West).

U.S. News bases its rankings on graduation and retention rates, standardized test scores from college admissions exams like the SAT and ACT, financial resources, and other factors. The publication bases its social mobility rankings on the graduation rates of Pell Grant recipients.

U.S. News also ranked seven CUNY colleges among the top public universities in the north region. These include Baruch (3), John Jay (7), Hunter (tied at 10), Lehman (12), Brooklyn College (15), Queens College (tied at 17). Also named are College of Staten Island (37) and York College (52). City Tech ranked No. 14 in the list of top public colleges in the north region, and Medgar Evers College is named No. 15 among top public schools that are ranked as national liberal arts colleges.

Baruch, Hunter, and John Jay tied for ninth place for most innovative universities in the north region—a list that identifies schools making innovative improvements in curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities. Those three schools along with Brooklyn, Lehman and Queens were named among the top 50 on the best colleges list for universities in the north.

This U.S. News report comes just weeks after CUNY dominated other rankings. The Wall Street Journal put five CUNY colleges in the top 10 of its “Best-Value” colleges list while Forbes magazine included nine CUNY schools on its list of “The 25 Colleges with the Highest Payoff.”

The City University of New York is described as a transformative engine of social mobility critical to New York City's lifeblood since it was founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education.

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