1. Columbia University
Columbia University is located in Manhattan. It is the fifth oldest university in the United States and the oldest university in New York State. The university was founded in 1754 as King's College. After the Revolution, the college was renamed Columbia College and in 1896 Columbia University, which also incorporated some of its previous colleges, including Barnard Women's College, established in 1891.
Joseph Pulitzer founded Columbia University’s prestigious School of Journalism in 1912. In the 1930s, Columbia University Law School produced two Supreme Court chief justices, Charles Evans Hughes and Harlan Fisk Stone. Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus has been the home of the university since 1897. Architect Charles Follen McKim was inspired by the classical architecture of ancient Greece. Columbia University Medical Center has a 20-acre campus in Washington Heights.
2. Cornell University
Cornell University was founded in 1865 and is an Ivy League school that has consistently ranked among the best in the world. Cornell University's 2,300-acre campus is located in the picturesque Finger Lakes region of New York State.
Cornell University’s campus is large enough to offer hiking trails for students to explore. Nearby Ithaca is known for being a favorite among foodies. One of the school's traditions is the Dragon Day Parade in late March each year. Students from the Department of Architecture paraded around campus in the form of dragons, while students from the Faculty of Engineering marched in the form of phoenixes.
The university has many schools in New York City, including Weill Cornell Medical College in upper Manhattan.
3. New York University
One of the best universities in New York is New York University, located in the heart of Manhattan. Washington Square Park is the center of NYU activity, with many university halls and academic buildings nearby. Departments are located across the river in downtown Brooklyn.
New York University was founded in 1831 by politician Albert Gallatin to serve students from all walks of life. Today, NYU ranks among the top universities in the United States in academic rankings. It is also one of the largest private universities in the United States, with more than 40,000 students, and is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities.
One of NYU's annual traditions is the Strawberry Festival, where students have the opportunity to celebrate the end of exams and sample the longest strawberry cheesecake in New York City.
4. University of Rochester
The University of Rochester has made groundbreaking progress in different disciplines such as mathematics, social sciences, medicine and music.
The university has a unique approach to research: its own "Rochester Course." Unlike other university courses, there are no compulsory subjects and students can choose to study courses in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. There are some highly competitive fifth-year courses that allow undergraduates to study subjects unrelated to their major for free for a year, or to work on innovative and entrepreneurial projects.
The main campus of the University of Rochester is adjacent to Lake Ontario. The institution offers a smaller, more public environment than many urban universities.